43% of non-white workers says racism is common at the workplace

Diversity Council Australia's (DCA) Racism at Work report found less than a quarter of 1,547 workers surveyed nationwide believed their employers took immediate action against workplace racism, while just 27% said their organisations were proactive in preventing it.

“What the findings of the report show is that racism is widespread among racially marginalised groups, and that people from racially privileged groups don't actually see the extent of the racism. And that's important to understand because we need people to see and understand racism before we can eradicate it," said Lisa Annese, CEO, DCA.

This report highlights the many forms racism can take, from overt to systemic, through stories of those who have been subjected to such discrimination. Australian companies are also urged to cast aside terms such as "harmony" and "cultural inclusion" when discussing racism and instead discuss the issue directly. Annese also points out that while it may be positive to talk about the skills and knowledge people from diverse backgrounds can bring to a workplace, "you can't have a conversation about racism without mentioning race".

Employers should, among other things, ensure that "all reasonable steps" are taken to prevent and address racist incidents, and "commit to unearthing and acting on workplace truths about the nature, scale, and impact of racism" in order to foster a culture that encourages workers to call it out, the report said. From drawing upon evidence-based material that is relevant to Australia when developing anti-racism training programs to using specialist recruitment providers rather than online systems that are "prone to racism" to mapping diversity levels in the organisation to ensuring robust systems to handle racism complaints in an appropriate manner are in place, all of these are fundamental to create a sustainable change.