Director First Nations Talent, Deloitte Australia
Former Head of Indigenous Employment, ABC
Indigenous Australian Alumni Award 2020
Bachelor of Arts (Communication), 1998
Phillipa McDermott is a proud Wakka Wakka and Mulinjali woman. In July 2022 she was appointed Director of First Nations Talent for Deloitte Australia.
Prior to this Philippa was Head of Indigenous Employment and Diversity at the ABC since 2013. Under her leadership, the ABC, for the first time, exceeded its 2 per cent Indigenous employment target.
Prior to joining the ABC, Phillipa was a radio broadcaster, the Manager of the Economic Development stream of the Commonwealth Government’s Indigenous Employment Program NSW, and Media Manager for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission NSW. She is currently the Chair of Bangarra Dance Theatre.
My goal is to get as many Indigenous and diverse people working in the media industry as possible. The Australian media and entertainment landscapes do not often represent diversity, so we must push hard to make those industries look and sound like Australia. We need our stories to be told by us.
In communities, I would like to see as many Indigenous people as possible (a) gain higher education and then (b) gain stable and permanent employment doing something they love. Poverty is one of my people’s biggest challenges. Getting a job lifts people up and out of having to be chained to welfare and the whim of government policy.
In society at large, I would like to see Australia come to terms with its true history, which might go some way towards eliminating systemic racism. This history needs to be taught in schools properly, and not just be left up to the school to navigate or integrate Indigenous perspectives into the existing curriculum.
I would also like to see some sort of truth telling commission, and for treaties to be settled. I think the same rings true in other countries across the globe – truth telling might help break down some barriers and create more equitable societies.
WATCH PHILIPPA'S WEBINAR
Global events like the Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-19 have challenged traditional narratives and created new opportunities for how we tell stories, which stories we tell, and who has the power to tell them. What does this mean for how we talk about diverse issues? And how can we wield the power of diverse storytelling to promote greater inclusion and representation? Phillipa McDermott chats with ABC Political Reporter Dan Conifer, Ngemba-Muruwari man and fellow FASS Communication alum, discussing the exciting new opportunities and experiences this change can bring, and how storytellers can contribute to discovering and developing these stories.
