Kiwis more tolerant than Aussies

Tuesday, November 17th, 2015

A new study has concluded that New Zealand workplaces are more diverse and tolerant than their Aussie counterparts.

The Randstad Workmonitor report found that more than three-quarters of Kiwi workers believe their company has an open and inclusive culture, while 88% of companies value diversity in the workplace.

9% of Kiwi workers said they had been victims of religious discrimination, while 16% of Aussie workers said they had been subjected to it.

The number of Australians subjected to racial, gender or age discrimination in the workplace is higher than the global averages.

Researchers also found that New Zealand workplaces were supportive of gender equality.

Just 16% of Kiwi participants said they had been subjected to gender discrimination – a rate that is significantly lower than the global average of 21%. A quarter of Australian respondents said the same.

New Zealand was also found to be among the most tolerant when it came to having workforces consisting of employees from various racial backgrounds.

Just 10% of Kiwi workers said they had been subject to racial discrimination at work, compared to 20% in Australia – a statistic that is 3% higher than the global average.

“It’s great to see New Zealand as a place that recognises diverse cultures, which can be attributed in no small part to the steady inflow of immigrants into New Zealand for more than two centuries,” said Penni Hlaca, head of client solutions at Randstad New Zealand.

“The fact that Kiwis love to travel abroad and embrace new cultures, provides us with a competitive edge on the increasingly global employment landscape.”

Hlaca added that the results were “simply a reflection of New Zealand culture”.

“But the key is to not get complacent, and whilst we are stacking up well on a global scale for acceptance, we should continue to strive to set the benchmark as a country where nobody feels discriminated against,” she said.

Source