Opinion Piece published in The Age - Racism in employment

14/07/2008

What does it take to get a job if you are Sudanese, Congalese, Burmese, Iraqi, Somalian or any other recent arrival from a non-English speaking country? Clearly a lot, according to the Harnessing Diversity research report just released by the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission and the Victorian Multicultural Commission.

At a time when we hear so much about labour market shortages and skill shortages, Harnessing Diversity reveals stories of people who have lived in Victoria for some time, can’t get their overseas work experience recognised and can’t get a job. How can this be so, when we know that some sectors of the job market are running at 20% vacancy rates, when employers are using all sorts of strategies to retain workers because of labour market shortages?

Harnessing Diversity makes it clear that racial discrimination is behind many of the rejections people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds face. While much of the blatant racism and name-calling is a thing of the past, the racial discrimination people face today is more subtle, entrenched and much more difficult to identify and address. This sort of discrimination is so systemic that often people don’t even realise their own biases and bigotry. Take for example the research on people with Arabic sounding names who failed to win an interview until they changed their names on their applications to ones that sounded Anglo-Saxon. Some recruitment agencies have even been reported as recommending that applicants change their names so that they can get an interview.

Even Australian qualifications don’t always help. Sunil, a teacher, with qualifications in mathematics and science, failed to gain an ongoing teaching position despite a shortage of maths and science teachers. Sunil is Indian. Then there is the Sudanese male who is qualified as a nurse overseas, but in order to have that qualification recognised, has to undertake further training but needs an income to pay for it! Or the qualified vet from Sudan who needs to undertake further training but cannot afford the expensive text books.

Under-employment and unemployment are serious problems for many skilled migrants and refugees. They are also serious problems for the whole community which has to manage the consequences. Under-employment and unemployment leads to economic instability and a greater reliance on government support. When that unemployment has been accompanied with experiences of racial discrimination, you can add psychological problems into the equation. In its 2007 report, More than Tolerance: Embracing Diversity for Health, VicHealth shows that the experience of discrimination can lead to mental health problems, placing an additional burden on the individual and the community.

The stories in Harnessing Diversity suggest that challenging racial discrimination in employment could provide one of the keys to solving the labour shortage. In order to continue to advance Victoria’s claim to be a multicultural, inclusive, modern democracy, we need to ensure that workforce participation is maximised to enable the economic and human rights protections to everyone in our community.

There are a number of ways to address this. The first is that Government, as our largest employer, can demonstrate leadership by reducing discriminatory practices in its own recruitment and promotion practices within the public service. This includes active recruitment of people from different cultural backgrounds, mentoring and support for disadvantaged members of culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Secondly, highlighting those organisations and individuals who demonstrate best practice and encouraging others to do the same will help challenge some of the negative attitudes and practices against people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Thirdly, migrant job seekers need to be actively supported through initiatives such as professional bridging programs, workplace mentoring and work experience, help with costs of upgrading qualifications and relocation expenses to match migrants with work outside of the metropolitan Melbourne.

The land of the fair go is an illusion for many migrants that can only become a reality with practical initiatives that break through the systemic and often internalised racism that still exists. We know from more than 30 years of equal opportunity laws that treating everyone the same does not deliver real equality. The current review of the Equal Opportunity Act provides an important opportunity to modernise our equality laws to actually begin to focus our attention on equal outcomes not just equal treatment. For many migrants and refugees this means that additional measures need to be put into place to enable them to contribute to the economic prosperity of Victoria, as well as enabling them to be part of our community.

Harnessing Diversity: Addressing Racial and Religious Discrimination in Employment, a report by the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission and the Victorian Multicultural Commission is available online www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au