Racism experienced by nurses, midwives and carers in the workplace has been uncovered in a damning report released by the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA).
More than 3,200 NSWNMA members took part in a survey from across all sectors and health settings including public health, private hospitals and aged care.
The survey found 64% of nurses, midwives and carers had been a direct victim of racism at work, while almost three quarters of respondents believed racism existed in their workplace. The main forms of racism were racial bias, stereotyping and gaslighting
According to the survey findings, 88% of nurses, midwives and carers who reported an incident of racism received no support, while 73% didn’t report it to management at all due to a lack of confidence in the system.
NSWNMA General Secretary, Shaye Candish, said the report revealed that systemic racism was rife in the workplace.
“We have a shared duty to address racism and chart a positive path forward for all communities. It’s heartbreaking so many of our members are experiencing racism, and this survey highlights the profound impact racial discrimination has had on their mental, emotional and physical wellbeing,” said Ms Candish.
“The survey reveals the negative personal and financial impact racism has had on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and those from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds, with respondents missing thousands of days in work combined as a direct result of racism.
“With half saying they felt unsafe to report or intervene, primarily due to fear of repercussion and self-preservation, we need to strengthen bystander education and remove barriers to reporting racism. We are calling for bystander education programs to be rolled out in all healthcare workplaces to equip staff with the skills and confidence to step in when acts of racism occur.”
Along with ensuring all staff complete bystander action education, the report makes eight recommendations including:
- Prioritise elimination of institutional racism by implementing policies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion
- Policies and training on incident reporting to ensure workers are knowledgeable about, and supported to, report psychosocial hazards including racism
- Anti-racism framework co-designed with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander workers
- Employers implement and monitor the effectiveness of co-designed anti-racism training
- Systems be implemented to assess and report on the personal and fiscal impacts of racism on workers and the workplace.
NSWNMA Assistant General Secretary, Michael Whaites, said the survey results showed urgent improvements were needed in racism education to ensure all workers were safe at work.
“Employers have a responsibility to create a safe working environment for all employees and employees have an obligation to ensure that they do not contribute to an unsafe workplace through acts of discrimination,” said Mr Whaites.
“It’s alarming how many members said they didn’t receive support after reporting an incident, that their cases were poorly managed, ignored or trivialised. For some respondents that meant leaving their job, or their profession entirely, because of the lack of action to address racial abuse and discrimination.
“We hope that by working in collaboration with the Australian Human Rights Commission, employers and government we can bring about meaningful change for both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and those from other racially marginalised communities by finding permanent and scalable solutions to mitigate racism in health and aged care workplaces.”
A new initiative between the NSWNMA and the Australian Human Rights Commission is being established to collaborate on improvements to racism education and reporting.
“The very positive news is that today key stakeholders including the Association, the Human Rights Commission and employers from public, private and aged care are coming together in a closed meeting to look at how we can work together to create safer workplaces. This continues the work of removing racism from our workplaces,” said Mr Whaites.
Race Discrimination Commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, said nurses and midwives deserved to be treated with respect and dignity.
“This report is yet another example of how racism is a public health emergency that must be met with the same urgency and seriousness as any other threat to life. We need the federal and state governments to commit to the health-based recommendations in the National Anti-Racism Framework,” said Sivaraman.
A copy of the Standing Together Against Racism report is available here.
