Systemic Racism
Systemic racism runs deep throughout Australian culture and society – but what does it really mean, and how do we go about creating change?
What is systemic racism?
Systemic racism is the interaction of culture, policy, and institutions that creates racist outcomes in our daily lives. Systemic racism creates an imbalance in access to the many ways that we understand ‘success’ in life including wealth, justice, employment, housing, healthcare, politics, and education.
What does this mean in everyday life? In Jonathan Sri’s TEDx talk, Systemic Racism: Australia’s Great White Silence – well worth watching to help you understand where we’re really at here in Australia – he gives the following examples.
“Systemic racism isn’t as overt as the Cronulla riots or the booing of Adam Goodes. But it’s there in the over-incarceration of First Nations people. In the exploitation of migrant workers. In the persecution of Muslim Australians. In the demonisation of asylum seekers. Unfortunately, most Aussies don’t want to talk about it.”
Yet talking about systemic racism can lead to understanding, empower action for change, and inspire others to follow your lead. So that, one day, everyone really does have a “fair go” here in Australia. So, let’s get started.
Dimensions of racism
It can be overwhelming trying to understand racism, and where systemic racism fits in. To break it down, there are four key ways that we see racism play out in everyday life globally and right here in Australia. We call these the ‘dimensions of racism’ – can you remember witnessing or experiencing these forms of racism in your life?
1. Internalised racism
Internalised racism happens within individuals, it is how someone feels about race. They might feel prejudice against people of colour, or hold beliefs about white superiority or entitlement. This can erode an individual’s sense of value, and undermine collective action.
2. Interpersonal racism
Interpersonal racism happens in those day-to-day moments when individuals interact with one another. An individual’s racist beliefs may be expressed in prejudice, discrimination, and unconscious bias. They might make racist ‘jokes’, perpetrate hate crimes or hate speech, or allow race to influence their recruiting decisions. This can cultivate inaction in the face of need, and foster unearned privilege.’
3. Institutional racism
Institutional racism happens within organisations, sectors, and their policies and might include professional standards that restrict an individual’s expression in appearance. This can result in racial disparities in life opportunities, as touched on earlier in how we understand ‘success’.
4. Systemic racism
Systemic racism happens across institutions and sectors – in other words the entire, interrelated system. Systemic racism contrasts with sharing a bus ride with a racist, or sitting near a racist at a footy match. When it comes to systemic racism, an identifiable perpetrator is not needed. We see this play out in income disparities, media portrayals, employment and leadership opportunities, and over representation of First Nations peoples in the criminal justice system – to name just a few of many examples.
The systems that shape our lives
Now that we understand what systemic racism is – the interaction of culture, policy, and institutions that creates racist outcomes in our daily lives – let’s take a closer look at how systemic racism is perpetuated every day, and deeply embedded in all parts of our white-dominant society and culture.
Politics
Australia is one of the most multicultural societies in the world. There are over 300 languages spoken in Australian homes, and around one in five Australians speak a language other than English at home. Yet, as BBC News notes, only 4% of our federal lawmakers are from diverse backgrounds. This lack of representation in parliament can lead to failures in policy.
As Australia's former Race Discrimination Commissioner Dr Tim Soutphommasane says, "If democratic institutions are not representative, their legitimacy will suffer."
Media and culture
Racist language, themes, and images are continually reinforced in the news and advertising. For example, reporting that consistently falls back on race and nationality while ignoring complex factors that contribute to crime.
Back in 2018 we saw how the South Sudanese Australian National Basketball Association’s Summer Slam basketball tournament did not go ahead for the first time in 15 years. Organisers said that media coverage of ‘African gangs’ made it too difficult to find a venue.
In addition, most of our mainstream media personalities are white. Where is the media diversity, in a country where around half of Australians were born overseas or have a parent who was?
Justice system
As journalist, writer and proud Wiradjuri man Stan Grant said in his racism speech that shook up Australia on 26 January 2016 – Australia Day, Invasion Day – he said, evoking the ‘for we are young and free’ of our national anthem :
“My people die young in this country. We die ten years younger than average Australians. We’re far from free. We are fewer than three per cent of the Australian population. And yet we are 25 per cent, a quarter of those Australians, locked up in our prisons. And if you are a juvenile it is worse. It is 50 per cent. An Indigenous child is more likely to be locked up in prison than they are to finish high school.”
This insight from Stan also speaks to the impact of systemic racism on the education opportunities and health of First Nations peoples here in Australia.
Professional institutions
When it comes to recruitment and career advancement, you’d hope that decisions are based on skills and experience. But research shows that this is not the case here in Australia and globally. Explicit and unconscious bias in recruiting and career advancement seriously impacts opportunities and life outcomes for people from diverse backgrounds.
For example, an Australian National University study found employers showed high rates of bias towards applicants with Anglo-Saxon names. Applicants with Chinese names required 68% more applications than applicants with Anglo-Saxon names to receive the same number of calls back. Applicants with Middle Eastern names needed 64% more; Indigenous names 35% more; and Italian names 12% more.
Educational institutions
Explicit and unconscious bias extends beyond professional practice. It also shapes racist outcomes in educational institutions. This is entrenched in reliance on standardised test scores that can marginalise low-income students and students of colour, access to private schools and tutoring, and university admissions selection – with some universities now trialling ‘name-blind’ admissions that remove indicators of an applicant’s ethnicity, religion, or gender.
Ask, ‘why’?
We understand that this can all feel big, even overwhelming. Where do we even start, dismantling this systemic racism when it runs so deep? But history tells us that change is possible, you have an important role to play – and that education and conversation is key.
Every day, we can think critically about the systems that shape our lives. We can ask ourselves, ‘why’? Start a conversation with colleagues in your workplace or organisation, your friends, sports club teammates and leaders, teachers, and family. Together, explore what contributes to this racial inequality and injustice across our education system, justice system, workplaces, and community. How can we do better?
