Get Rid of This: Aboriginal Discrimination in The Workplace

Discrimination occurs in a variety of settings, including the workplace. Discrimination can be purposeful or unintentional; it can also be conscious or unconscious. People are sometimes unaware that what they say or do is racist. One that commonly happens in Australia is Aboriginal discrimination in the workplace.

Why There Is Discrimination Against Aboriginal People in the Workplace

Since European settlers arrived in Australia in 1788, Indigenous Australians have faced discrimination which began the Aboriginal discrimination history in Australia.

According to a poll conducted by the non-profit organization Diversity Council Australia, 38% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian workers faced harassment or discrimination in the previous year. 

44% reported hearing racist slurs in the workplace, and 59% reported encountering “appearance racism” – receiving comments about how they look or ‘should’ look as an Indigenous person. 28% of those polled stated they worked in “culturally risky environments.”

The responsibility for genuinely understanding the history and culture of Indigenous Australians falls on the rest of Australia. Australia has not reconciled itself to the real history of the nation and what has been done. 

Impact of Discrimination in the Workplace for Aboriginal People

Lowers Job Satisfaction

A responder stated that bringing up his Aboriginality can make him uneasy and anxious since the conversation can go one of two ways: supported or discrimination leaks in.

Indigenous workers who faced unfair treatment at their jobs due to their Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander identity were two and a half times less probable to be always satisfied with their job (13% always satisfied), compared to those who hardly ever or never experienced it (32% always satisfied).

Reduces Workplace Recommendation

The interviewee said that he wouldn’t suggest to any Aboriginal in Australia who does not have very thick skin a job where there is discrimination against them.

According to a study, individuals who reported receiving unjust treatment at work were three times less likely to suggest their place of employment to other Indigenous people (12% always recommend vs. 39%).

Lowers retention

According to one participant, after working hard for two years without success and feeling the emotional toll it took on him, he eventually quit that organization.

Indigenous workers who experienced unfair treatment at work were twice as likely (36% very likely) to look for a new job in the next 12 months as those who hardly ever or never experienced it (15%).

Other effects

Indigenous people are frequently held in low-wage, low-skill employment while having the ability to work at higher classifications. Due to their cultural background, they also feel undesired, undervalued, alienated, and humiliated.

Discriminatory Behaviors Towards Aboriginal People in the Workplace

Applying for a job is more difficult for Aboriginal people because they need a degree. Statistics show that Indigenous Australians are statistically less likely to have educational credentials than non-Indigenous Australians, in part because of their historical restriction from the educational system.

Compared to workplace issues raised by non-Indigenous employees, issues raised by Indigenous workers are taken less seriously and are less likely to be looked into.

Examples of Aboriginal discrimination in the workplace include racial prejudices, social isolation, racist bullying about the Australian Aboriginal flag, and some racial threats. 

Do Aborigines Get Legal Protection from the Government?

In general, it is the responsibility of Australia’s state and territory governments to conserve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (ATSIHP Act) empowers the Australian Government to conserve threatened cultural heritage if state or territory legislation fails to do so.

The Australian Government has the authority to issue extraordinary orders, known as declarations, to protect traditional locations and artifacts of significance to First Nations peoples from harm or destruction. When all other states or territorial processes have been exhausted, a declaration is utilized as a last resort.

The ATSIHP Act can safeguard cultural heritage by doing the following:

• Emergency declarations provide up to 48 hours of protection in the event of a major and immediate threat (section 18 application)
• Emergency declarations – 30 to 60 days for a major and urgent threat (section 9 application)
• Longer-term declaration – the period of protection is determined by the Minister (section 10 for significant areas, section 12 for significant objects).

An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person (or their representative) may seek an emergency declaration and a longer-term declaration to protect cultural heritage from a threat.

It is clear that many indigenous people face discrimination in their workplace. Suppose you want to remove Aboriginal discrimination in the workplace. In that case, you can be their ally, speak up when you hear inappropriate statements about indigenous people at work, do not just be a bystander.