Study Finds 60 Per Cent Of Indigenous Workers Face Racism At Work; Employers Express Surprise They Noticed

SYDNEY – A landmark study has revealed that almost 60 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers experience racism in their workplace. In a statement the nation’s employers said they were “shocked” and would “look into it” right after they finished updating their Reconciliation Action Plans.

Researchers found that racism in workplaces ranged from overt slurs to more subtle forms such as being passed over for promotions being asked to speak on behalf of all Indigenous people and having their desk moved next to the “Aboriginal artwork” every time a stakeholder visited.

One respondent said her manager once congratulated her for being “so articulate” during a presentation. Another said his colleagues kept asking him to do the Welcome to Country at morning tea as if it were the same as being rostered for the coffee run.

Corporate Australia responded swiftly. Several companies announced new Diversity and Inclusion Taskforces to sit alongside their existing Diversity and Inclusion Committees which were established after the last study found the same thing.

A spokesperson for one major employer said the company was committed to creating a culturally safe workplace and pointed to its recently installed Indigenous art in the lobby as evidence of progress.

Human resources experts say the findings are consistent with decades of research which has consistently found that racism exists and that reports about racism existing do not reduce racism.