Harmony Day & The Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Today is Harmony Day in Australia and in many businesses, schools and government institutions, similar sorts of celebrations occur, wearing orange, bringing a plate of ethnic food and sharing stories of migration. Have a look at the official Harmony Day website. While this is needed and is community building, it is what happens the day after and the day after that, that concerns me. I had the same concerns three years ago, shared in a linkedin post. 

 What has been the narrative in the media is that Australia is ‘one of the most successful multicultural societies’ and that ‘cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths’. On the surface of it, with almost half (49%) of Australians born overseas or having a parent overseas, boasting 300 ancestries, more than 70 Indigenous languages - it is impressive. However, it only showcases the multicultural society we live in. When you look at our big corporates, our universities, our health care sectors, our government, this 50% of cultural diversity is not represented and certainly not at senior levels.    

 Yet culturally diverse people continue to fuel the economy, open gateways to bilateral trade (see the AIBC, ACBC, APBC and the ACOLA report) and are consumers with purchasing power. Check out one of the most successful Indian-Australian business stories, ROBE led by DD Saxena. 

 Some organisational and leader responses

 While there are these standout success stories, there are many professionals who are still trying to navigate Australian business culture. Inside corporates some empathise: ‘change is slow’ and compare the slow progression of migrants, Indigenous and Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander people to the glacial pace of efforts to solve for gender inequality. I was told two weeks ago when raising this argument in an Anglo-Saxon group of accomplished woman, “It took me 30 years, love to get where I am in a man’s world, it takes time". In 30 years, I will be in my 70’s, why should I wait at all, why can’t inequality be addressed at all fronts at the same time? 

This seems to play out inside some corporates, where there seems to be a pecking order in the diversity agenda, solving for the low representation of women first, then cultural diversity, LGBTIQ and disability get some focus, depending on calendar relevant or media driven attention (Harmony Day, Marriage Equality Bill, Mardi Gras, Para-Olympics). Knowing there are less than 2% of culturally and linguistically diverse females in ASX leadership (see DCA's work here); it begs the question of intersectionality and raises concern over this siloed approach to where diversity and inclusion effort and investment goes. What if you are a culturally diverse woman or man? What if you are a gay paraplegic? Does your senior leader know how to advance you?

The quest for Inclusion

Some say don’t worry about the diversity, just include people based on merit, that solves the problem. However, ‘merit’ in Australia is an elusive and qualitative assessment often made by Anglo-Saxon senior male leaders. It also ignores structural advantages that some have had to attain this so called ‘merit. Some of the commentary we get from our 70+ CALD women (many of whom have experienced slow promotional advancement into Senior Manager, Director and the C-Suite): “you need more of a profile in the organisation”, “find a mentor”, “take on a stretch project”, “speak up more in meetings”, “you are over-qualified”, “take a side-way move and get more exposure to a different part of the business”, “you are a specialist and need to be more strategic. Ask people around you who have migrated in the last 10 years or an Indigenous or Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander whether they have experienced doors opening due to merit.  

 Alternative commentary is that to consider a non-merit based solution is reverse discrimination, disadvantaging men, Anglo-Saxon people, straight people, able bodied people. It comes down to equality vs. equity. We could view the world through the equality lens (merit based argument), we all get the same opportunities. However, we live in a world that has inherit, historical-rooted inequity (we are all not equal) where opportunities to advance are still held in the power of those who have been enjoyed equality for generations. Call it unconscious or conscious bias, the bias is there. Australia is better than most countries, coming along way from the White Australia Policy. Think of the US and my home country, South Africa. 

Roots of Harmony Day

The Howard government coined Harmony Day in Australia. Around the world it is actually the International day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The United Nations proclaimed this day, calling on international communities to act to eliminate all forms for racial discrimination. It was in response to an incident that no South African can forget, The Sharpesville Massacre when March 21 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid laws. Celebrating Harmony Day the way we do, while positive in some respects, dilutes the need to continue to act against racial discrimination and to actively include cultural diversity in business agendas to address the inequity. Very few figure heads have even shared the origin of Harmony Day and what it should stand for in today’s Australia. Besides our Racial Discrimination Commissioner, Tim Soutphommasane, and our Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, there is a lack of acknowledgement from our wider business community. 

However the dial has turned up on cultural diversity and I would like to acknowledge the supporters who are taking action to include the cultural diversity agenda in mainstream business conversations: my Co-Founders of CDW: Vick Pillay, Michelle Redfern and Dai Le, Julie Chai, Felicity Menzies, Tim Soutphommasane, Diversity Council of Australia (Lisa Annese, Ming Long), Irene Yu, Malini Raj, Helen Kapalos and the Victorian Multicultural Commission, Karen Huxley, Gemma Saunders, Carol Corzo, Sadhana Smiles, Zione Walker-Nthennda, Christine Nixon, Philip Dalidakis, Amanda Hede, Alana Bastin-Byrne and Jade Collins, Julia Evans, Susanne Legena, Sharon Kinchela, Chris Figg, Shantelle Thompson, Marianne Roux, Renata Bernade, Moana Matthews.

Where to from here?

What we need more of in Australia: for the insides of organisations to look like the multicultural society we live in. This takes deliberate action at all levels from (Boards to senior and operational leadership); to include and leverage cultural diverse, Indigenous and Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander people at the right levels and on track for leadership roles. It makes commercial sense connecting your employees and shareholders who are your customers. 

Make a difference in cultural inclusion beyond celebration activities today and while the origins came in a fight for human rights and some may say this is a long bow to Australia's context, we must recognise the work to be done in our own backyard.

Div

Author: Div Pillay is CEO of MindTribes, a company bringing cultural inclusion into the business arena.