So You Want to Consider Volunteering?
Be part of a movement that’s reshaping who gets to build technology, who gets to lead, and whose voice gets heard.
We have a number of volutneer roles, from sponsorship to nominations go-getters, to our student champion conduit and our research champion, all roles are listed below, but let’s get started on who we are, and what we do before you jump in to volutneer.
The TechDiversity Awards in Sydney under the theme “Influence Redefined – Power in Every Voice”, is our flagship celebration event. But the Foundation? We’re a year-round operation driving change through education, celebration, and action.
- We run the TechDiversity Academy training leaders in AI governance and inclusive practice.
- We produce the Tech Reflects Study researching what actually works.
- We create “Tech Belongs to Everyone” resources helping students see themselves in technology careers.
- And yes, once a year, we throw Australia’s premier Awards where some volunteers wear feather headbands and help celebrate the organisations proving that diversity drives innovation, competitive advantage, and measurable impact.
So before you scroll through the volunteer roles below, ask yourself: do your skills align with reshaping Australia’s tech workforce? And more importantly, how do you feel about accessories?
When an organisation sponsors the Awards, they’re not buying a table, they’re backing the Tech Reflects Study that proves what works. They’re supporting the TechDiversity Academy training the next generation of inclusive leaders. They’re funding “Tech Belongs to Everyone” resources that help students from every background see themselves in technology careers. They’re investing in research, student programmes, and year-round action that drives measurable change.
ROLE A: TECHDIVERSITY AWARDS - FUNDING GO GETTER
Helping Organisations Contribute to Our Tech Workforce (AKA: You’re Really Good at Getting People to Say Yes)
Right, so you’ve got networks. You’ve got connections. You’ve got that thing where people actually return your emails. And more importantly, you’ve got the passion to shift Australia’s workforce and change how we do business. Congratulations, you’re no longer a bystander, you’re a Funding Go-Getter, and we need you.
Your job? Connect organisations to the platform where inclusive leadership meets competitive advantage. But here’s where it gets interesting, you’re not selling traditional Gold/Silver/Bronze tiers like every other event. You’re showing organisations how our new sponsorship framework isn’t about how much money they spend, it’s about meeting their needs and the impact they want to achieve.
Do they want to amplify voices? Be an Amplifier. Drive specific change? Become an Advocate. Just starting their inclusive leadership journey? They can be a Voice. You’re helping them choose based on strategic alignment, not just budget hierarchy. It’s a completely different conversation, and honestly? It makes your job easier because you’re matching organisations to what they actually want to accomplish, not just asking “can you afford the expensive tier?”
Check out our sponsorship approach: https://tech-diversity.com.au/sponsor-td-awards/
If you’re the person who can ask for money without flinching, who understands that “no” just means “not yet,” and who genuinely believes organisations should invest in reshaping our tech workforce, this role has your name on it.
Skills We’re Looking For:
- Networking without being annoying about it
- Relationship management (AKA: you remember people’s names and follow up)
- Sales or fundraising experience (or just natural talent for getting people to commit)
- Passion for workforce transformation that’s contagious
- Ability to explain why Amplifier/Advocate/Voice sponsorship makes more sense than Gold/Silver/Bronze
- Strategic thinking about matching organisations to the right sponsorship tier
ROLE B: NOMINATIONS GO GETTER | BY CATEGORY X 5 VOLUNTEERS
We’re looking for leaders and organisations who have fundamentally redistributed power, influence, and opportunity and proved that inclusive leadership drives results. Past nominees include Deadly Coders democratising tech access, Getmee AI creating employment pathways, and KPMG’s 10by30 Initiative reshaping who leads. These roles find the next wave of gamechangers.
Category Champions (One Volunteer Per Award Category)
The Expert Who ‘Owns’ a Category and Hunts Down the Gamechangers
Alright, so you know your sector inside out. You hear about innovations before they hit LinkedIn. You’ve got that radar for organisations doing genuinely transformative work, not just talking about it in their annual reports, but actually redistributing power, influence, and opportunity in ways that change who gets to lead.
As a Category Champion, you own one of our award categories for TechDiversity Awards 2026. Your mission? Map potential projects and organisations, then proactively hunt down the nominees everyone else is missing. You’re not waiting for nominations to roll in, you’re out there finding them. You’re looking for measurable transformation: specific examples of how influence was redistributed, leadership emerging from unexpected places, grassroots leaders doing the work without the title or the budget but with the impact that matters.
Think: the Indigenous tech academy operating in remote communities that most people have never heard of. The startup building multilingual dementia care that’s quietly serving 30+ language groups. The government agency that actually solved an accessibility problem instead of just commissioning another report about it. The corporate program that didn’t just hit diversity targets but fundamentally changed who gets promoted and why.
For example: Our Campaign of the Year category would suit someone with a marketing or branding background who can spot the difference between a campaign that looked good on Instagram and one that actually moved the needle on representation, accessibility, or systemic change. Our Tech for Good category needs someone embedded in social impact who knows which innovations are delivering measurable community outcomes versus which ones are just good PR.
You’re the expert. You know the landscape. You’ve got the networks. And you’re not afraid to reach out to organisations and say “what you’re doing deserves recognition, have you considered nominating for TechDiversity Awards?” Because sometimes the best work is being done by people too busy actually creating change to think about awards.
Categories Available:
- Tech for Good (social impact innovations)
- Business (corporate transformation & inclusive leadership)
- Education (programs building the next generation)
- Government (policy & service delivery innovation)
- Campaign of the Year (initiatives that shifted narratives & drove measurable impact)
Skills We’re Looking For:
- Deep sector knowledge in at least one category area
- The ability to spot genuine transformation versus performative initiatives
- Networks across your industry (or the willingness to build them fast)
- Research skills to track down organisations doing quiet, powerful work
- Persistence, because sometimes the best nominees need convincing to actually nominate
- Passion for ensuring diverse voices get celebrated, not just the usual suspects
What You’ll Actually Do:
- Map your category landscape: who’s doing transformative work?
- Proactively reach out to potential nominees
- Track nomination pipeline and follow up with organisations
- Ensure your category represents the full breadth of inclusive leadership, not just the big names with marketing budgets
If you’re the person who already knows about the innovations before they go mainstream, who gets frustrated when amazing work goes unrecognised, and who wants to make sure 2026 celebrates the real gamechangers, this role is yours. Feather headband comes later. Category expertise comes now.
ROLE C: TECHDIVERSITY ACADEMY CHAMPION
The Storyteller Who Gets Organisations Excited About Learning (Yes, It’s Possible)
Look, we all know what “corporate training” usually means: death by PowerPoint, mandatory modules everyone clicks through while checking emails, and certificates no one remembers earning. TechDiversity Academy? Not that. We run programmes that actually shift culture, not just tick boxes. Your job? Make sure organisations know these programmes exist and understand why they’re genuinely different. You’re part evangelist, part matchmaker, part “have you considered investing in your people in a way that actually works?” gentle nudger.
Here’s the thing: most organisations are drowning in generic diversity training that makes everyone uncomfortable for 90 minutes then changes absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, we’re running AI Governance Practitioners Programs and Inclusive Leadership Programs that give people actual capability, the kind that shows up in how decisions get made, who gets heard in meetings, and whether your organisation can actually navigate the complexity of building technology for diverse communities without causing harm (or PR disasters).
Your mission is to build awareness of Academy programmes among business leaders who are tired of performative gestures and want real transformation. You’ll share programme success stories that demonstrate genuine capability-building, not “we completed training” metrics, but “our leadership team now makes measurably different decisions” outcomes. You’ll help connect interested organisations with the Academy team. And bonus points if you can explain why “training” and “transformation” aren’t the same thing without making anyone feel defensive about the seventeen training modules they’ve already mandated.
This role suits someone who gets genuinely excited about learning (yes, you exist), who can translate educational value into business language without losing the substance, and who understands that changing culture requires more than a one-hour webinar. You’re convincing organisations to invest in their people’s capability, not because it’s compliance, but because it’s competitive advantage.
Skills We’re Looking For:
- Enthusiasm for education that’s contagious (not annoying)
- Ability to explain complex programme value in simple language
- Networks in business leadership, HR, or L&D circles
- Storytelling skills, you can make case studies compelling
- Understanding that “completed the module” equals “changed behaviour”
- Persistence without being pushy
What You’ll Actually Do:
- Build awareness of Academy programmes across your networks
- Share success stories and outcomes (the real kind, not the LinkedIn humble-brag kind)
- Connect interested organisations with the Academy team for deeper conversations
- Help position Academy programmes as strategic capability investment, not compliance theatre
- Occasionally explain to someone that yes, inclusive leadership is a skill you can actually learn and practice
If you’re the person who believes organisations can genuinely learn to do better, who gets frustrated when “diversity training” is treated as a box-ticking exercise, and who wants to connect leaders with programmes that actually build capability, this role needs you.
ROLE D: TECH REFLECTS STUDY CHAMPION
The Data Advocate Who Knows Numbers Tell Stories
You know that moment in a meeting when someone says “diversity in tech is getting better” or “our industry is really struggling with inclusion” and you immediately think “okay but compared to what? Based on what data? What’s the actual baseline here?” Congratulations, you’re our people.
Our Tech Reflects Study tracks the real state of diversity in Australia’s tech workforce, not the aspirational version companies put in their annual reports, not the anecdotal “it feels like we’re making progress,” but the actual, rigorous, measurable data on who’s in tech, who’s leading, who’s being promoted, and whose voices are still missing. You’ll help grow participation (and financial support) by showing organisations why being part of the study means being part of the solution, not just observers commenting from the sidelines.
Here’s your mission: reach out to organisations who should be participating in the study (teams of 20+) and communicate the value proposition in a way that makes CFOs and People & Culture leaders actually care. Participate in the research.
You’ll also help secure financial supporters who want to back rigorous research that actually moves the conversation forward. Because guess what? Good research costs money, and organisations that benefit from having real data should contribute to making it possible.
This role is ideal for anyone who’s ever said “but what does the data actually say?” in a meeting and meant it. For people who understand that anecdotes aren’t evidence, that good intentions without measurement are just hopes, and that if we’re going to shift Australia’s tech workforce, we need to actually know where we’re starting from.
Skills We’re Looking For:
- Ability to explain why data matters without sounding condescending
- Comfort talking about research methodology (or willingness to learn)
- Networks in organisations with 20+ person tech teams
- Sales or partnership skills, you’re essentially “selling” research participation
- Understanding that “we value diversity” and “we measure diversity” are very different statements
- Enthusiasm for evidence-based decision-making that’s contagious
What You’ll Actually Do:
- Identify and reach out to organisations that should participate in Tech Reflects Study
- Communicate the value proposition: participate, benchmark, improve
- Help organisations understand this isn’t “more admin”, it’s strategic intelligence
- Secure financial supporters who want to back rigorous workforce research
- Connect interested organisations with the research team
- Occasionally explain why “we don’t collect that data” is exactly the problem
If you’re the person who gets genuinely excited when someone says “let’s look at the numbers,” who believes measurement is the foundation of improvement, and who wants Australia’s tech sector to stop guessing and start knowing where we actually stand on diversity, this role has your name on it.
ROLE E: STUDENT AMBASSADOR PROGRAMME CONDUIT
The Connector Between Future Leaders and Forward-Thinking Organisations (AKA: The Person Who Believes Young People Deserve More Than Unpaid Internships Making PowerPoints)
Right, so here’s the situation: our student initiative (led by the brilliant Purvang Dave) is building the next generation of inclusive tech leaders, students who understand that technology should belong to everyone, not just people who look like the last fifty years of tech leadership. They’re smart, they’re passionate, they’re the future workforce Australia desperately needs. But here’s the problem: most organisations don’t know how to actually engage with emerging talent beyond posting a generic grad program listing on Seek and hoping diversity magically happens.
That’s where you come in. You’ll be the on-the-ground champion connecting organisations with our student ambassadors, opening doors, building bridges, and proving that good things happen when you give young voices a platform, not just a seat at the back of the room.
Your mission? Identify and approach organisations interested in mentoring, hosting, or genuinely partnering with our student ambassadors. Not “come watch us work” internships. Real engagement. Then you’ll coordinate introductions between Purvang’s student team and corporate partners and here’s the thing, let’s meet students where they actually are. Think casual picnic lunch meet-ups on university grounds, not intimidating boardroom presentations where students have to pretend they already know everything. Help showcase how organisations can invest in emerging diverse talent in ways that actually work for both sides.
We’ve already built a ‘survival in tech download’ to help students navigate the industry, but there’s so much more we can do and you’ll be part of making it happen.
This role suits someone who remembers what it was like to be the outsider looking in, who gets frustrated when organisations claim “we can’t find diverse talent” while ignoring the students right in front of them, and who genuinely believes the next wave of tech leadership should look different from the last one. You’re building pathways, not obstacles.
Skills We’re Looking For:
- Networks in organisations that actually want to invest in emerging talent (not just harvest cheap labour)
- Ability to pitch partnerships that benefit both students and companies
- Comfort coordinating between students and corporate environments without losing authenticity
- Understanding that mentorship means listening, not just telling students how things “should” be done
- Event coordination skills (picnic lunches on campus still need planning)
- Genuine belief that young people’s ideas matter now, not just “someday”
What You’ll Actually Do:
- Identify organisations ready to genuinely engage with student ambassadors
- Coordinate introductions between Purvang’s team and corporate partners
- Organise casual meet-ups where students and industry leaders can connect as humans (yes, on university grounds, with actual food)
- Help organisations understand how investing in students now builds the diverse workforce they claim they want later
- Showcase student ambassador programme value to potential partners
- Be the proof that giving young voices a platform creates opportunities everyone benefits from
If you’re the person who believes students deserve more than exploitative “exposure” opportunities, who wants to build actual bridges between emerging talent and forward-thinking organisations, and who gets genuinely excited when you see young people given real platforms to lead, this role needs you.
