I remember that first day at law school all those years ago, the only coloured person in the class. We are now better represented, yet very few coloured people occupy senior leadership positions in Australian institutions.
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Non-Europeans and the Indigenous comprise almost a quarter of the Australian population, yet they account for only five per cent of senior leaders. Only a handful of chief executives within the ASX 200 companies are from a non-European background.
There is virtually no one within the federal ministry and ninety nine per cent of the heads of government departments have an Anglo-Celtic or European background. There are no senior leaders of colour in any of Australia's regulatory institutions.
The law is one of the worst indictments of all - not a single person of colour on the nation's highest court; there hasn't been one for decades and less than one percent in the federal and state superior courts.
Wherever else you look, like the media or the arts you won't find cultural diversity. Overseas visitors, particularly from the United States, which has its own challenges, are dismayed at the lack of diversity in a country that likes to spruik its multicultural credentials like a badge of honour.
But when you look past the superficial symbols we trumpet out to the world, like our indigenous cultural icons and Asian cuisine you start to see the fractures, becoming deep chasms that risk dividing rather than uniting us. Part of the problem is that within Australian corporate and organisational life, cultural diversity remains a poor cousin in the diversity family, as former Human Rights Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane once said.
When you start hearing respected figures like former foreign minister Gareth Evans say repeatedly that we have ducked and weaved and dithered on the issue for too many years, you know there is problem.
History has shown that time is not the answer
We need to stop taking comfort in symbols and take a serious look at how to reflect a diverse Australia in all its institutions. The Commission recognises the need for developing transparent pathways to leadership, broadening the pool of candidates for senior roles and even setting targets. Target setting is often a divisive issue but we have seen how it has transformed female representation on boards and other institutions.
Report after report has highlighted the dismal representation of culturally diverse Australians. The problems and the solutions are well known, yet meaningful action eludes us, while successive generations of talented and committed Australians are forever lost in the system, told to be patient that change will happen, each generation sold the same lie like an elaborate ponzi scheme. History has shown that time is not the answer, enlightened leadership and policy responses is what is desperately needed.
What's more there is a positive correlation between diversity and economic performance, adding to the urgency.
The prospect of change will be challenging because it calls for serious self - reflection. The time is well overdue for the country to have those honest and difficult conversations.
If abandoning political correctness as some have recently suggested is what's needed, then coloured people will give that up too, if that is what it takes, but once that door is open, be prepared to confront some uncomfortable truths.
- Ray Steinwall is Adjunct Associate Professor, Law Faculty, University of NSW. He is completing a new book on growing up coloured in Australia.
