Cultivate Monthly
October 2026
Through a culturally diverse lens
The ambition is there.
It isn’t reaching the room.
61% of culturally diverse women* have a career plan
26% share their ambitions with their manager
*Culturally and linguistically diverse respondents to Women’s Workplace Visibility in 2026.
Cultivate Sponsorship: Activating visibility, advocacy, and advancement for underrepresented and high-potential talent to empower organisations to retain and promote leaders from within.
A note from Kat
Katriina Tahka, Founder & CEO
Last month we shared the headline findings from our national survey with Women’s Agenda. This month I want to go further into the parts we haven’t talked about enough: what culturally diverse women and older women told us.
The pattern is the same every time. The ambition is there, the plans are there, and the skills are there. What’s missing is women’s voices being heard in the room where decisions get made. The data tells us many culturally diverse women do not feel comfortable or safe speaking about their ambitions to their manager or senior leaders. Employers need to hold a mirror up and understand what the barrier is. Real progress will take an exploration of the culture and leadership, not the capabilities and ambitions of the women who work there.
Organisations can fix this, follow along below to learn how.
Through a culturally diverse lens
Clear plans, kept outside the room.
One in four women in the survey came from a culturally and linguistically diverse background. They want a promotion at the same rate as everyone else, and they plan further ahead: 15% have a five-to-ten-year plan, against 8% overall.
Who culturally diverse women tell about their ambitions
Friends outside work and industry: 60%
Their immediate manager: 26%
Peers and colleagues: 19%
When we asked what’s holding them back, the top answers were about access, not ability.
What’s getting in their way
A lack of clear options: 40%
A lack of visibility: 33%
Competition for the role: 32%
Caring responsibilities: 27%
Discrimination: 25%
Who gets seen
Age came up more than anything else.
When we asked what affects how others see their abilities, women named age more often than caring responsibilities, part-time work, flexible work, health or career breaks.
“Nothing holds me back from voicing my (and other Queenager women’s) deservedness to pursue career goals post 60; ageism bias, ageist practices and inflexible role structures are what stops traction.”
A survey respondent
Skills that go unmeasured
The skills already in the room.
Hear it from Kat
On Cuppa with Cookie, Kat talked about what culturally diverse women said their organisations are missing out on: relational thinking, community-based thinking. Skills that are already inside Australian workplaces, and not the ones that get measured or rewarded.
What organisations can do
Four places to start.
- Make it safe to talk about ambition, at every level, not just in the annual review with a line manager.
- Treat sponsorship as infrastructure, not a program that gets cut when budgets tighten.
- Know the difference. Mentoring gives you advice. Sponsorship gives you advocacy.
- Make pathways clear, and give people access to those who decide on advancement.
Cultivate News
Taking the findings further.
This month we’ve been sharing what women told us with the people shaping workplace inclusion in Australia. We presented the findings at RISE, and we’ve been talking them through with Diversity Council Australia and the Australian Multicultural Women’s Alliance (AMWA).
Bring the findings to your leadership team
We’ll run a 30-minute briefing on the report for your leadership team, or a webinar, depending on your audience.
Organisational training, workshops and coaching
We help organisations and leaders grow through:
- Sponsorship and leadership pathways
- Inclusive workplace training
- Tailored executive labs and advisory support
Coming up in November
Cultivate Global
Sponsorship doesn’t stop at the border. Next month we look at Cultivate’s work with organisations beyond Australia: what changes when sponsorship runs across cultures and countries, and what stays exactly the same.
Thank you for being part of the Cultivate community. Let’s keep building pathways for growth together.