Aa
  • Read, Watch, Listen
  • TJI Series
  • Community Action
  • Events
  • Zedi
Follow us and continue the conversation
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • FaceBook
  • X
  • YouTube
Test yourself with the TJI Quiz!

Adjust size of text

Aa

Follow us and continue the conversation

  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • FaceBook
  • X
  • YouTube

Your saved articles

You haven't saved any articles

What are you looking for?

Original reporting, insightful analysis and diverse views, delivered straight to your inbox

  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • FaceBook
  • X
  • YouTube
Your support fuels our mission to inform, entertain and inspire.

The Jewish Independent is bound by the Standards of Practice of the Australian Press Council. If you believe the Standards may have been breached, you may approach The Jewish Independent or make a complaint to the Australian Press Council in writing at www.presscouncil.org.au. The Council may also be contacted on 1800 025 712.

  • Our Story
  • Contact us
  • Our Team
  • Support us
  • Guidelines
  • Pitch your idea
  • Republishing us
  • Community Action
  • Our Awards
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
  • FaceBook
  • X
  • YouTube
Aboriginal FlagTorres Strait Islanders Flag

The Jewish Independent acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and strive to honour their rich history of storytelling in our work and mission.

© The Jewish Independent 2026All Rights Reserved
Website design and development by Your Creative, MelbourneTerms & ConditionsPrivacy Policy
HomeRead, Watch, ListenAustralia
Generation ChangeInterviewAustralia

Bianca Stern: an ally for disability inclusion

As general manager of social enterprise All Things Equal, 27-year-old Bianca Stern is knocking down the barriers that exist for people with disability in the workplace.
Ruby Kraner-Tucci
Print this
Bianca Stern

Bianca Stern is general manager of social enterprise, All Things Equal (Image: TJI).

Published: 27 May 2024

Last updated: 15 September 2025

Tell me about All Things Equal.

All Things Equal is a not-for-profit hospitality social enterprise that exists to bridge the gap between people with disability and the wider community. We do that through providing purposeful training and award wage employment in hospitality-based settings.

We run a café on Carlisle Street, which is a pumping place for the Jewish community in Melbourne; we run a cooking school; a footy club canteen with Ajax Junior Football Club; and we do catering for our local community as well.

The goal of what we do is for our trainees – our staff members with disability – to develop hospitality skills, confidence and independence. We’re essentially the stepping stone for them to develop those skills and then move on and up into the open labour market.

Through purposeful paid employment, All Things Equal bridges the gap for people with disability entering mainstream workplaces. <em>(Image supplied)</em>
Through purposeful paid employment, All Things Equal bridges the gap for people with disability entering mainstream workplaces. (Image supplied)

Where do you fit in within the charity?

I have a strong disability background and focus, and my role at All Things Equal is incredibly broad. I do all the community engagement, philanthropy, advocacy, marketing, and strategy.

I really, really love what I do. I wouldn't be in the position that I'm in today if it weren’t for all the other amazing Jewish community initiatives that exist which supported me to develop my leadership skills and provided me volunteering opportunities.

For example, I used to work at Flying Fox, another non-profit in the Jewish community, as their Disability Education Coordinator and I learned a lot there.

"The organisations that exist to support people with disability in the Jewish community are beyond comprehension, they're absolutely invaluable."

Bianca Stern

What are some of the exciting projects in the works at All Things Equal?

The short answer is heaps! We’re beyond excited about running a food and beverage outlet at the Australian Open in January 2025, so we’re in full swing getting that ready. On top of that, we’ve got big plans to open a second café next year – that’s definitely keeping us on our toes. And, of course, we're constantly refining our offering and training programs to make sure they remain high quality. Stay tuned…

What does disability inclusion in the workplace look like in practice?

It's all well and good for us to talk about what disability inclusion looks like in the workplace – but it's another thing to actually have the initiative to do something about it.

So first and foremost, it's looking at the individual as an individual. We know that every single person with disability is different. There's a saying that comes to mind which is: if you've met one person with disability, you’ve only met that one person with disability. That rings really true in our context.

We know that every person who works with us and who we support has their own unique interests, challenges, strengths and differences that they can contribute to our workplace.

For us, it’s about how can we provide a tailored approach to their experience at All Things Equal? How can we home in on that from a person-centered approach and a strengths-based approach? How do we make sure that we're looking at what the individual can do rather than their limitations?

In society in general, the unemployment rate for people with disability hasn't changed in over 30 years. There's lots of initiatives that have existed, but when it comes to actually embedding disability inclusion, in particular in the workplace, we haven't seen too much change.

I don't know if All Things Equal can change the statistic, but we absolutely want to be part of the solution.

"People think that when we give philanthropically, it's only through money, but there's so many more things that have been ingrained in us from school, from family, from Jewish tradition that makes our community unique."

Bianca Stern

How does Australia fare when it comes to disability inclusion?

I think we're falling pretty far behind in comparison to other countries.

The implementation of the NDIS has dramatically changed a lot of people's lives for the better, but I think as a whole, if we talk specifically about inclusion within the workplace, we're falling pretty far behind.

But if I think about disability inclusion specifically within the Melbourne Jewish community, I think we're actually excelling in that compared to some other communities. The organisations that exist to support people with disability in the Jewish community are beyond comprehension, they're absolutely invaluable. I’m really grateful to be part of it.

What makes the Jewish disability community so invaluable?

It comes down to the trailblazers in our community. Thinking about Flying Fox and its founder and co-CEO Dean Cohen OAM. He’s changed the way that disability and inclusion look in our community by building a network of young people who may have never met someone with a disability before. They attend a camp and all of a sudden, they’re advocates for inclusion, no matter what career path they go down. That's pretty cool.

It's just ingrained in Jewish values – supporting each other, tikkun olam, making sure you treat everyone the way that you want to be treated.

It's also very much ingrained in everything that we do when I think about philanthropy. People think that when we give philanthropically, it's only through money, but there's so many more things that have been ingrained in us from school, from family, from Jewish tradition that makes our community unique when compared to others.

There are several arms to All Things Equal, including a cafe, canteen, cooking school and catering services, many of which are staffed by an "all abilities crew". <em>(Image supplied)</em>
There are several arms to All Things Equal, including a cafe, canteen, cooking school and catering services, many of which are staffed by an "all abilities crew". (Image supplied)

Tell me about your personal connection to the Jewish community.

I grew up in the eastern suburbs of Sydney in Dover Heights. I went to Moriah College and grew up in a modern Orthodox family. We had Shabbat every week, kept a kosher home – my brother and my dad are frum, and my brother is actually a rabbi who lives in London.

I went on IBC – Israel By Choice – after school, and by the time I moved to Melbourne eight years ago, I knew that I wanted to immerse myself further in the Jewish community.

Judaism is and was and will continue to be the absolute heart and soul of my family. It’s ingrained in me all the values and ethics that I hold. Who I am today is a testament to my upbringing – to my family, my school and the Jewish community initiatives I took part in.

Stern: "My life has dramatically changed because I work in the for-purpose space". <em>(Image supplied)</em>
Stern: "My life has dramatically changed because I work in the for-purpose space". (Image supplied)

Your experience within the for-purpose space spans LaunchPad, Social Enterprise Network Victoria and the Centre for Social Impact, among others. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned?

I don't know if I can pinpoint it to just one lesson. My life has dramatically changed because I work in the for-purpose space. The sense of reward; the sense of connection and community; and the sense of personal and professional development that I've experienced – I know I would not be able to get that in the corporate sector.

Being in this space allows me to think strategically and allows me to reflect on myself, the type of person that I want to be and – this sounds cliché – the change that I want to see in the world. I believe I see real change and that's not because of me, that's because of the team that I work with.

How cool is it that I get to be part of something bigger than myself every single day that is actually changing people's lives?

You might also like
  • Neurodivergent children are being quietly excluded from our schools 
    A parent
  • David Zwier: delivering comfort with a conscience
    Ruby Kraner-Tucci
  • Josh Kirsh: planning a NSW political first
    Tami Sussman
logomark.67a07ee3
We believe in the free flow of information

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, by using our Creative Commons licence

You might also like

    Tame
    Australia

    Tame apologises – but with little grace

    Deborah Stone 1
    funding handouts
    NewsAustralia

    Who will get the money from the Cranbourne windfall?

    Gideon Cohen
    neo-nazis white supremacists corowaTEST
    Royal CommissionOpinionAustralia

    Antisemitism, homophobia and a radical response to both

    Dennis Altman

About the author

Ruby Kraner-Tucci

Ruby Kraner-Tucci

Assistant Editor

Ruby Kraner-Tucci is a journalist and TJI's assistant editor. Her writing has appeared in The Age, Australian Jewish News, Time Out and Broadsheet, among others. Ruby was awarded Multicultural NSW’s Best Report in Multicultural Media 2025 and has been named a Top 36 Under 36 Jewish Changemaker by B'nai B'rith.

More from the author

FeatureAustralia

‘True essence of being an ally’: The non-Jews choosing to work in the Jewish community

InterviewAustralia

Elliot Szafran: food that feels like a hug from Zaide

NewsAustralia

Antisemitic incidents down from peak but still triple pre-Gaza war

FeatureArts & Culture

Bringing Terezin music to life 

Comments

No comments on this article yet. Be the first to add your thoughts.