RESOURCE LIBRARY
EMPLOYEE NETWORKS AND ERGS:
A CURATED RESOURCE LIST
Resources to help you understand, build, and sustain employee networks through an intersectional, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive lens -- because networks only work when they work for everyone.
EXPLAINER
What are Employee Networks?
Employee networks are voluntary, employee-led groups that bring people together around a shared identity, experience, or purpose. They exist to provide community, mutual support, professional development, and a collective voice that can influence workplace culture and policy. They go by many names -- employee resource groups (ERGs), affinity groups, business resource groups (BRGs), inclusion networks, or simply staff networks.
Common forms include:
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Identity-based networks -- centred on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or cultural background. Examples include Women's Networks, LGBTQIA+ Pride networks, CALD networks, and First Nations groups.
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Life-stage or experience-based networks -- focused on shared circumstances rather than identity, such as carers, parents, early-career employees, or veterans.
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Disability and neurodiversity networks -- focused on accessibility, reasonable adjustments, and creating workplaces that work for everyone.
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Reconciliation and First Nations networks -- particularly significant in Australia, often linked to an organisation's Reconciliation Action Plan and focused on cultural safety and representation.
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Peer and cohort-based networks -- time-limited or programme-linked groups with a shared learning journey, like the one you're currently building.
In practice, the boundaries between these forms are increasingly blurry. The strongest networks tend to take an intersectional approach -- recognising that people hold multiple identities at once, and that siloed groups can inadvertently recreate the exclusions they were designed to disrupt.
FRAMING THE CONVERSATION
Why an Intersectional Lens is Non-Negotiable
Australia is one of the most diverse nations on earth -- for example nearly half of us were born overseas or have a parent born overseas. Yet our workplaces consistently fail to reflect or leverage that diversity. We can not truly understand workplace experiences when we look through a single lens. An intersectional lens is essential for anyone working with employee networks, where culture, gender, disability, age, LGBTQIA+, caring, veteran and First Nations identities and lived experiences intersect in ways that generic interventions, such as gender equity frameworks, entirely miss.
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
Watch. Listen. Read.
Employee Networks are a source of information, community-led action and support. Their benefits extend beyond the network, informing business decision making, attracting talent and reducing burnout. Click on the images below to learn more about why networks matter, how to structure and resource them and read case studies on where employee networks have succeeded.
Watch:
TED Talk: The Urgency of Intersectionality
This foundational talk from Kimberle Crenshaw -- the scholar who coined the term 'intersectionality' in 1989 -- has been viewed over 7 million times.
ERG Guides and Research:
ELA is the largest community of ERG champions based around the world, representing all types and sized organizations.
Academic Research:
Dynamics of Employee Resource Groups: Leader Experiences Driving Mutual Benefits for Employees and Employers
Extensive Guide:
Detailed overview for government but applicable to any business. Includes useful strategy and comms planning templates.
Explore Practical Tools:
Lean In Circles are small groups of peers that come together to support one another and learn new skills. This website provides tips for meetings and connection activities.
Watch or Listen:
Educational explainers by Maceo Owens -- senior program manager of employee resource groups at KAYAK and OpenTable.
Landmark Review:
Center for Effective Organizations
LEGAL OBLIGATIONS FOR ORGANISATIONS
Co-Creating Strategy and Initiatives
Australian organisations are required by legislation to consult with workers on changes and initiatives that directly impact them. These circumstances are:
Major Workplace Changes that may include:
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Organisational restructures affecting staffing levels or reporting lines
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Changes to technology systems that significantly impact work processes
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Relocation of work areas or closure of facilities
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Introduction of new work methods or performance management systems
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Budget decisions affecting staffing or resources
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Campus master planning and facilities development
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Policy changes with significant operational impact.
Health and Safety Matters that may include:
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Introduction of new safety policy, procedures or equipment
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Changes to workplace layout affecting safety
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Response to workplace incidents or hazards
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Development of emergency procedures
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Employee wellbeing programs
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Cultural safety concerns, including experiences of racism, cultural load, or unsafe workplace behaviours that may impact marginalised worker’s wellbeing.
Employment Conditions that may include:
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Changes to regular rosters or ordinary hours of work
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Modifications to accessibility, reasonable adjustments or leave policies or procedures
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Introduction of new professional development requirements
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Changes to flexible work arrangements policies.
In addition to these mandatory consulting requirements, meaningful community engagement produces more effective implementation of the change or initiative, allows for risks to be identified and mitigated early and enhance buy-in. Doing surface-level engagement or consultation results in tokenistic, surface-level initiatives that don't align with the organisation's strategy and culture and can unintentionally perpetuate structural barriers and harm.
Employee networks and ERGs can play an integral role in meaningful worker consultation, ensuring marginalised and underrepresented voices are heard. This requires an understanding of inclusive data, co-creation and community engagement. We have developed the framework below:
