ABC commits to taking action in response to racism report

By Catherine Ngo Content writer, presenter and podcaster

Following a comprehensive evaluation that revealed structural problems in managing employee complaints, ABC plans to revamp its human resources team and organisational culture.

In May of last year, the ABC announced an independent review of its systems and processes, following public discussion and comments about racist conduct at the ABC and how the organisation responds to allegations of racism from within and outside the organisation.

The review was conducted by First Nations woman Dr Terri Janke, the solicitor director of Terri Janke and Company along with other advisors who have now released the Listen Loudly, Act Strongly report. 

The review panel produced a report containing 15 recommendations. The ABC has accepted these recommendations in principle.

The ABC aims to work towards:

• Enhancing representation of diverse backgrounds in management and leadership positions.
• Creating a separate, independent function dedicated to staff welfare and wellbeing.
• Streamlining and improving recruitment processes and pathways to ensure equity.
• Establishing a psychologically safe exit interview process that includes questions related to discrimination and bias.
• Conducting regular pay audits to identify and address any disparities and promote equal compensation.
• Committing to being proactively anti-racist

The ABC has also released a list of 20 actions it has committed to, which includes:

• Changing the people and culture team name to ‘people, culture and inclusion’ (PC&I).
• Recruiting a new head of diversity and inclusion, reporting to the chief people officer.
• Consolidating staff support roles into one team within PC&I and recruiting additional roles.
• Improving systems and processes for responding to external attacks on staff members; and
• Formally reviewing processes for recruitment, complaints, career progression and exits.

Insights from 120 interviews of current and former ABC staff across diverse cultural backgrounds were collated to hear their perspectives and stories. Only one participant out of the 120 expressed not experiencing racism in the workplace personally but had been aware of racism occurring at the ABC.

“This response overwhelmingly indicates that racism exists within the ABC workplace, and that ABC staff are subjected to racism from external individuals and organisations in connection with their work,” the report says. 

“This suggests racism is systemic at the ABC – the ABC’s policies and practices disadvantage people who are First Nations and CALD in these areas.”

Participants expressed considerable hurt, vulnerability, and exhaustion around their experiences in the workplace. These experiences present barriers to staff for career progression. Overtime, these experiences have a deep impact on the self-esteem, and sense of self-worth. 

Instances of overt racism (including racial slurs and mistaking someone for a more junior worker based on racial appearance) and covert racism (such as stereotyping and not being considered sufficiently impartial to report on a cultural group because one was perceived to be from that same group) were reported as experiences of ABC staff.

Limited knowledge of the grievance process

The participants had limited knowledge of the complaint processes and were unaware of the existing systems or how to access them. This lack of awareness contributed to a feeling of distrust in ABC systems.

Participants expressed concerns about not being believed and a lack of confidence that meaningful action would be taken. These concerns were reinforced by firsthand experiences or observations of others experiencing similar outcomes.

Participants also noted the adverse impact of external attacks they experienced from the public, the media, and external individuals. The online environment exposed people in the public eye to inflammatory comments and personal attacks.

While ABC moderated online forums, it managed and responded to media criticism, and participants from First Nations and CALD backgrounds reported a lack of consistency. This inconsistency left many feeling excluded and vulnerable.

Some participants felt supported by their direct managers during these attacks, but this support was ad hoc rather than systemic. This lack of systemic support further contributed to the participants’ feelings of distrust.

The review emphasised that participants showed a deep commitment and dedication to the ABC. Despite this encouraging commitment, the review highlighted the ongoing presence of psychosocial hazards within the ABC, necessitating immediate action to safeguard the health, safety, and wellbeing of all staff.

Some participants acknowledged the positive changes implemented by the ABC, while many others emphasised the need for long-term systemic transformations.

Statements from the ABC leadership

ABC managing director David Anderson told ABC employees that the testimonies provided to Janke were disturbing and the details of racist behaviour were unacceptable to the national broadcaster.

“On behalf of everyone at the ABC, I am sorry for any and all racist behaviour and past harms experienced by our Indigenous and CALD employees, either currently or formerly employed,” he told staff.

“We all need to do better for our colleagues on our commitment to zero tolerance for racism in our workplace. We all need to do better for our colleagues by preventing or acting on behaviour that seeks to discriminate against, bully or demean them. We all need to do better for our colleagues by remaining vigilant against racism or discrimination of any kind in our workplace.”

As an organisation, Anderson continued in a statement, the national broadcaster must learn from the experiences in the report and commit to work together to do better and rebuild the trust that has been “eroded by the actions of some people.”

“For anyone who thinks it is OK to display or practise racist behaviour or who thinks they can make people feel belittled based on their identity, we will call you out and remove you from this organisation. You are not welcome here. We are a workplace that values respect, and we expect it,” he said.

Read the full Listen Loudly, Act Strongly: Independent review into ABC systems and processes in support of staff who experience racism