Example Of Racial Discrimination In Workplace

The clearest example of racial discrimination in workplace practice sits at the very first step, in who gets a call back.

Identical applications, differing only in the applicant’s name, do not produce identical response rates. This has been tested repeatedly and the effect is consistent enough that applicants adapt to it, anglicising their names on CVs.

What makes it difficult is that nobody involved intends it. Screening happens fast, often against a vague sense of fit, and a name carries assumptions before the experience is read.

The controls are procedural rather than attitudinal. De-identified shortlisting, where names and schools are removed. Written criteria agreed before applications are opened. And more than one person scoring independently before they compare.

Awareness training alone does not shift this. Process design does.

The Australian Human Rights Commission covers racial discrimination. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s cultural awareness training and EEO training course.