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One telegram and one telegram fragment concerning death of Cadet Stanard at the Battle of New Market on May 15, 1864.

While Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) does not discriminate against particular groups, our social structures and systems mean some people are more at risk in a pandemic context—from both the disease and the social and policy responses to the pandemic. This is particularly so for people with disability, in part because they often have poorer health outcomes from underlying conditions but also due to discrimination and social exclusion. Here, we draw from a survey about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Australian children and young people with disability and their families. Respondents faced a range of inequities prior to the pandemic, and COVID-19 has further exposed and often exacerbated them. We conclude that recent developments in the Australian disability context to personalize services have arguably made people with disability and their families less safe within a pandemic context, and we outline some ways in which these issues might be addressed.

As more of our everyday lives become digital, it has become crucial to include everyone in the digital society. This special issue is examining the different layers of digital inclusion and data literacy by drawing on research, policy, and practice developments around literacies in various regions and contexts. It highlights the politics around them so as to propose policies that are needed to include more people in datafied societies, and what types of literacies they should learn. This issue includes three commentaries by experts in the field and five peer-reviewed academic papers that go towards tackling digital inclusion. This means to find solutions to the fact that many people are left behind technological advancements, and that these create what is commonly called - the digital divide.

In this paper we examine what 'data literacy' – under various definitions – means at a time of persistent distribution of 'dis-/mis-/mal-information' via digital media. The paper first explores the definition of literacies (written, media, information, digital and data literacies) considering the various parameters and considerations they have gone through. We then examine the intersection of dis-/mis-/mal-information and 'fake-news' and these literacies. The paper explores what types of literacies are needed today and the important role of variations in citizens' social context. We highlight three main gaps in current data literacy frameworks – 1. going beyond the individual; 2. critical thinking of the online ecosystem; and 3. designing skills for proactive citizens. We discuss these gaps while highlighting how we integrated these into our survey of UK citizens' data literacies as part of our Nuffield Foundation funded project - Me and My Big Data. By discussing our theoretical and methodological challenges we aim to shed light on not only how the definition of data literacy changes but also how we can develop education programmes that take into account information distortions and put proactive citizens at the centre.

This report provides a framework for the development of gender inclusion indicators for the ADF. The draft indicators were developed through an examination of academic and grey literature, and are underpinned by complementary reports written by the research team. While diversity in the workplace is about the presence or absence of people from a variety of backgrounds (especially historically marginalised groups), inclusion refers to individuals' capacity to fully participate and to influence decisions. Much of the literature tends to agree that inclusion has two dimensions: belongingness and uniqueness (Mor Barak, 2015; Jansen et al., 2014). Fostering a sense of belonging is essential, but if this means that employees have to give up their unique characteristics, they are not experiencing true inclusion (Mor Barak, 2015). In the context of the ADF as a workplace, the aggressive socialisation and modification of identity for ADF members on joining represents a threat to inclusion. However, military training and socialisation is also an opportunity, as it provides an intervention point where the ADF can adjust training regimes to explicitly move towards the valuing of difference. The adoption of inclusive behaviours can then be furthered through taking up and promoting inclusive leadership. The authors have drawn on research conducted by the US Army to identify the elements of inclusive leadership, and how these can be measured. Generally, 'gender inclusion' is not a recognised concept in either grey or academic literature (see Appendix A for relevant terminology and definitions). However, researchers (Kossek et al., 2017) have identified elements of gender inclusion, which are: fairness and anti-discrimination for women in work access, process, and outcomes; leveraging women's talents; and workplace support for women. As discussed below (p.8), antecedents are required for a gender inclusive workplace. Researchers and consultants have identified the elements of broader inclusion (not specifically focused on gender). While these bundles of behaviours vary between researchers, common elements include psychological safety, involvement in the work group, feeling respected, having a voice in the organisation, and having access to leaders (Shore et al., 2018; Taylor, 2019). Considerations around inclusion also need to encompass men's resistance to gender equality. A great deal of research has been conducted on how to overcome male resistance (for example, see Dover et al., 2020; Pease, 2008). Empowering men to treat everyone fairly within a culture of inclusion requires long-term interventions, based on education and activities to counter stereotyped associations and to support becoming an ally (Dover et al., 2020). Inclusive leadership training and engaging middle managers can also increase ownership of initiatives to effect behavioural change (Gartner, 2019; Colley, Williamson and Foley, 2020). We provide existing models of diversity and inclusion which could be adapted to the ADF context (see Figure 1, p.9 and Appendices C and D). We also suggest inclusion indicators for the short- and longer-term (see pages 14-16), and suggest new indicators (see pages 16-17. We also consider how current indicators used in the Women in the ADF report can be enhanced (see Appendix B). Measuring gender equality and diversity largely relies on quantitative measures; inclusion, which relates to people's feelings and experiences, is usually assessed through subjective measures (often with a qualitative component). Inclusion can be invisible to people who already experience it, because it is the absence of exclusionary events. Therefore, creating bespoke measures of inclusion needs to be done in partnership with as diverse a group of the workforce as possible (Gaudiano, 2019). Researchers have also recommended that organisations develop not only inclusion indicators, but inclusion competency indicators. These operate at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, group and organisational level. These competencies could be measured as a proxy for inclusion and measured through a survey. Essentially, these competencies are all elements of inclusive leadership, and a range of inclusive leadership surveys already exist. This report complements the recent report produced by the authors benchmarking gender equality in the ADF against other militaries and like organisations. It also complements the forthcoming program logic report, as indicators outlined in this report may also be captured in the program logic. Synergy between gender equality indicators in the program logic report and inclusion indicators requires further consideration, and consultation across the three Services to ensure they are fit for purpose. As noted by the Canadian Armed Forces (2020), inclusion is very sensitive to context and hence any inclusion indicators will need to be carefully developed in partnership with the ADF. Any such undertaking would necessarily be a large-scale project. The US Army has developed a methodology for developing leadership indicators to enable leadership surveys to be conducted (Ratcliff et al., 2018). The methodology used was onerous, rigorous and time consuming, as detailed. Further development of gender inclusion indicators could form Phase 2 of the Defence Gender Research Program.

This report provides benchmarks for gender equality in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) using comparable Australian and international data to early 2021. Previous reviews of women's participation in the ADF give context to this analysis. These include the wide-ranging Broderick Review (2012) which identified numerous barriers to women's progression. That review identified issues including the lack of a critical mass of women in the ADF, inflexible career structures, the concentration of women in particular occupations and at lower ranks, difficulties combining work and family, and a culture still marked at times by unacceptable behaviour including exclusion, sexual harassment and sexual abuse (Broderick 2012). In the years since – and despite the implementation of the Defence cultural reform program Pathway to Change – the data presented in this benchmarking report reveals that while some progress towards creating a gender-equitable workforce has been made, more work is needed. From an international perspective, the ADF compares favourably on attraction, recruitment and retention in relation to other Five Eyes nations, and with NATO and other western militaries, including the Nordic nations. Women are joining the ADF at higher rates than NATO countries, and Army and Air Force are set to achieve their 2023 participation targets of 15% and 25% respectively. The Navy is slightly behind in regard to meeting its targets. The available data indicates that there have been positive, but incremental, gains in Australia, as well as in other similar militaries. However, gendered job segregation, in terms of both roles and seniority of position are key issues to be resolved. Women dominate caring, support or logistical (administrative) roles, while men dominate the technical and combat roles. This has implications for women's career progression, particularly as promotion to higher ranks favours combat roles and deployment experience. Examining barriers to promotion for women in the ADF, the data shows that women are much less likely to be promoted to senior ranks and that this pattern is consistent across like militaries. For all Five Eyes nations, but especially in the UK Armed Forces, women remain less likely to be senior leaders than men. It is evident that there are systemic barriers to the career advancement of women. One barrier is caring responsibilities; the presence of a spouse to support a member being promoted to senior ranks is significant. The data shows that for women in higher ranks, having children is relatively rare, while for men in senior ranks, having a family is common. These circumstances highlight a range of socio-cultural issues that will need further exploration. Regarding retention, the ADF is comparably better at retaining women than like militaries, but the rate of retention is still too low to sustain a pipeline for promotion to senior ranks. All Five Eyes nations have difficulties retaining women, although Navy has lower separation rates than the other two services. Women are more likely to leave for family reasons than are men and may also be deferring having children. While data across militaries is not strictly comparable or available, Australia's attrition rates do appear to be lower than in other militaries. The availability and use of flexible work arrangements (FWAs) is an important factor in achieving gender equity. The uptake of FWAs is extremely low in the ADF and FWAs are predominantly used by women. Like other militaries, the ADF has introduced a range of flexible working arrangements in recognition of the changing nature of the Australian labour market and distribution of caring responsibilities in families. While these arrangements are intended to benefit both men and women, the available data reveals that women are far more likely than men to take up flexible service or working arrangements. Developing suitable and effective FWAs, which will be used equally by women and men, presents a significant challenge for the ADF. Rates of abuse, harassment and bullying have been identified as key barriers to the recruitment, retention and promotion of women in the military. Direct statistical comparisons are not possible due to variations in definition and measurement, however, the ADF's rates of such behaviour are broadly comparable to like militaries and follow the broader pattern of disproportionately high rates among women. According to military police data, "women were identified as the victims in more than 80 per cent of the sexual misconduct incidents reported to Defence" (WiADF, 2019-20, p.56). All comparable militaries have identified this as a key area of concern and have instigated a range of policies and programs to address the issue. In Australia, the Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Office (SeMPRO) was formed to provide support for people in Defence who had experienced sexual abuse, to advise supervisors and units about dealing with people who had experienced sexual assault, and to provide training on this issue. However, the Values, Behaviours and Resolutions Office still manages sex-based discrimination cases separately from SeMPRO. Despite the recommendations in the Broderick Review that these offices be combined, this has not occurred. Given ongoing discrimination and abuse, this is an area where substantially more work is required to eliminate all forms of unacceptable behaviour. Comparisons with similar Australian industries and the wider Australian workforce reveal representation of women in the ADF is far lower than in the broader Australian workforce. When compared with emergency services, such as police forces, the ADF is not performing as well on overall participation, however rates of women in leadership roles are broadly equivalent (though both are poor). In other Australian industries that have traditionally been highly gender segregated, the ADF is comparable to construction, mining and transport. The experience of STEM industries may be instructive for the ADF which has comparable problems with its own STEM workforce. Reforms have led to rising numbers of women studying STEM, but not to a corresponding improvement in participation, retention or promotion. In the ADF, women also remain under-represented on boards and in senior leadership and decision-making roles. Although the ADF has made some progress, there is more work required to achieve targets for female participation. While by some international comparisons the ADF is performing relatively well, a range of areas of inequity remain. These include occupational segregation, the integration of women into combat positions, low levels of women in leadership positions (including decision-making boards), a lack of opportunities and take up of flexible work arrangements for women and men, and retention of women, particularly after having children. Sexual harassment and sexual assault also continue to disproportionately affect women, which influences their overall experience in the service, and, subsequently, other factors including retention and promotion pipelines. Decisive action is possible in these areas, but a crucial consideration for any program of change is to avoid approaches which will trigger backlash among current service members. Past implementation of well-intentioned policies and strategies for change has been met with significant resistance, even where there has been support from leadership. It will therefore be necessary to present policies as fair and beneficial for service members to ensure buy-in from personnel at all levels. Well-developed communications and education strategies will be important. Finally, the effort to achieve gender integration and inclusion needs to be linked to clear and measurable goals, targets and timelines, and the availability of baseline data from which to measure changes must be ensured. Only when these are in place, will it be clear when success has been achieved.

INTRODUCTION: Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ) is officially recognised as a bicultural country composed of Māori and non-Māori. Recent estimations have projected a threefold increase in dementia prevalence in NZ by 2050, with the greatest increase in non-NZ-Europeans. The NZ government will need to develop policies and plan services to meet the demands of the rapid rise in dementia cases. However, to date, there are no national data on dementia prevalence and overseas data are used to estimate the NZ dementia statistics. The overall aim of the Living with Dementia in Aotearoa study was to prepare the groundwork for a large full-scale NZ dementia prevalence study. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study has two phases. In phase I, we will adapt and translate the 10/66 dementia assessment protocol to be administered in Māori, Samoan, Tongan and Fijian-Indian elders. The diagnostic accuracy of the adapted 10/66 protocol will be tested in older people from these ethnic backgrounds who were assessed for dementia at a local memory service. In phase II, we will address the feasibility issues of conducting a population-based prevalence study by applying the adapted 10/66 protocol in South Auckland and will include NZ-European, Māori, Samoan, Tongan, Chinese and Fijian-Indian participants. The feasibility issues to be explored are as follows: (1) how do we sample to ensure we get accurate community representation? (2) how do we prepare a workforce to conduct the fieldwork and develop quality control? (3) how do we raise awareness of the study in the community to maximise recruitment? (4) how do we conduct door knocking to maximise recruitment? (5) how do we retain those we have recruited to remain in the study? (6) what is the acceptability of study recruitment and the 10/66 assessment process in different ethnic groups? ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The validity and feasibility studies were approved by the New Zealand Northern A Health and Disability Ethics Committee (numbers 17NTA234 and 18NTA176, respectively). The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed academic journals, national and international conferences, and public events. Data will be available on reasonable request from the corresponding author.