Examples of Racial Discrimination in the Workplace

Racial discrimination in the workplace is unfavourable treatment based on race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin or immigration status. It is unlawful under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975. Most Australian cases are not overt abuse. They are small decisions and remarks that accumulate until someone’s working life is meaningfully worse than a colleague’s.

Examples that turn up repeatedly in Australian workplaces include:

• Shortlisting on the “cultural fit” of a name or accent rather than the requirements of the role
• Jokes, mimicry or comments about someone’s background, defended afterwards as banter
• Persistently mispronouncing or renaming a colleague after being corrected
• Excluding someone from client-facing work because of assumptions about how customers will react
• Applying a grooming, language or dress rule that disadvantages one group without a genuine business reason
• Treating a complaint about racist behaviour as an interpersonal clash rather than a compliance matter

The last one is where employers most often come unstuck. Behaviour that a manager waves off as banter can still be unlawful, and section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act makes it unlawful to do something reasonably likely to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate a person because of race or ethnicity, judged on the circumstances rather than on what was intended. A manager who lets it pass once has set the standard for everyone watching, and the people most affected usually stop reporting long before they stop noticing.

The Australian Human Rights Commission handles complaints under the Act and publishes guidance for employers. This is general information rather than legal advice, and state and territory laws add their own requirements.

The articles tagged here work through what racial discrimination looks like in practice and how to respond to it. To set the standard with your people, see Sentrient’s equal employment opportunity course and cultural awareness training, which covers stereotypes, bias and communication across cultures, or the full workplace compliance courses range.