Only one out of 120 former and current ABC staff interviewed said they had not experienced racism at work, an independent review of the public broadcaster has found.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Managing director of the ABC David Anderson announced the review last year after ex-ABC journalist Stan Grant faced racist abuse for speaking about colonisation ahead of the King's coronation.
The racism review, by lawyer Dr Terri Janke and Company, heard from ABC employees including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culturally and linguistically diverse people, and allies.
"There is an absolutely undeniable racist culture at the ABC," one staffer was quoted as saying in the resultant Listen Loudly, Act Strongly report.
Participants' responses indicated racism was "entrenched" in recruitment processes, pay discrepancies, career progression, complaints handling, and middle to upper-level representation in the organisation.
"When I was casual, there was no way I would raise an issue of racism. Shifts would be cut, and it has happened before. Being full time, I am less fearful of calling something out," one employee had said.
Another participant said there was casual racism within newsrooms when they came across stories featuring "Aboriginal talent or issues".
When the topic of Indigenous people and intergenerational trauma was brought up, a staff member reportedly said "it's just a bit sad, why can't they get over it?".
The report also revealed barriers and challenges in employee conditions, staff supports, in workplace bullying and harassment, and in internal policies, as a result of racist attitudes.
One employee told reviewers: "No one wants to say they are racist, and their perception of racism is only people going around with pitchforks - in an institutional setting, it looks like favouring people you know and that look and sound like you."
"There's not enough time to stop and make sure people are actually OK because staff are stuck in fast cycles of churning out content," a participant wrote.
Some examples of overt racism included offensive remarks, inappropriate reenactments and assuming First Nations or CALD staff could not be objective when reporting on a cultural group - whether or not they were from that cultural group.
Several review participants reported comments like "diversity hire" were common in the workplace where First Nations or CALD people were told they had been hired because of their background or that their job was "safe" during redundancies.
There were also instances where a person was assumed to be a junior employee because of their racial appearance, or assumed to be a trespasser in the office.
The report said participants felt the ABC generally did not have an understanding of covert racism and microaggressions or their impact on people.
These ranged from comments about appearance and food to not having a full range of skin tones in makeup for dark-skinned people and describing CALD or First Nations women managers as "bossy".
The report also found staff had experienced racism at the hands of the public in the presence of colleagues and were "disappointed" in the latter's lack of response.
Dr Janke's independent review made 15 recommendations to the ABC to address "systemic" racism.
These included that the most senior to most junior employee read the report, the broadcaster commit to being "proactively" anti-racist, and create new executive roles such as Indigenous and Diverse Employee Support Lead.
The ABC reported its managing director had issued a public apology along with the organisation's response to the report which accepted all the recommendations in principle.
"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," Mr Anderson told staff on Tuesday.
"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."
Bageshri Savyasachi
Bageshri Savyasachi is the Police Reporter for The Canberra Times. She reports on crime, justice, and public safety in the nation's capital. Bageshri values community voices from the frontlines of breaking news, to the experiences of people behind the scenes. Reach out at bageshri.s@canberratimes.com.au or send secure tips to bageshri.s@proton.me
