Just last year there was an effort to pass a law regarding Australian Aboriginals being recognized as the first inhabitants of Australia. Besides this, their language and dialects are also going to be recognized by abolishing a discriminating law in the country. This letter addresses that issue and talks about how Australian Aboriginals are left out in the work place because of cultural barriers. Although this issue is unspoken, it is very rampant. There are a lot of indigenous people who are being left out in school, the workplace and in the community because of the background. There needs to be more an effort for inclusion, not just culturally but also in terms of language.
Cultural awareness and tolerance needs to be practiced by many. This letter aims to explore the topic by giving direct examples of how an Australian Aboriginal feels in the corporate world. The dynamics of working in a group and not being able to connect with other people is seen. This kind of issue is often overlooked in the workplace and it is tolerated. The type of inclusion that needs to be seen should focus on overcoming certain cultural barriers.
The content’s style is seen in a form of a letter, being written by an Australian Aboriginal who has experienced first-hand racism because of his color. Although he is part of a group in the workplace, he still feels as if there is not enough effort to incorporate cultural and language communication styles. Even though there are legal efforts to abolish discrimination and to recognize Australian Aboriginals as the first citizens, it is not evident in the workplace. This is an open letter for the Department of Justice, so the audience would consist of everyone in the country who might overlook this issue on discrimination.
Language And Power
Dear Department of Justice,
I am writing to you on behalf of other Australian Aboriginals who have been discriminated against due to ethnic reasons. I would like to outline that the communication style and language that we use is not being recognized as standard Australian English. Outlined in this letter are instances and reasons why Australian Aboriginals are being left out in the workplace as well as educational institutions.
“Racial discrimination is embedded in the Australian Constitution and continues to be enacted in the laws and policies of our states and territories.” (Qtd. Rachel Greens)
A lot of the time, in the workplace, a type of problem may be seen when someone is out for their own wellbeing or self interest. This would cause a set-back for the group, and some tasks will be left undone. When a certain individual sets out to accomplish only his or her own goals, a lot of things are left un-taken-care-of. There is no unity between white Australians and Aboriginals, even though just last year, the government was set to recognize Australian Aboriginals as the first Australians, and the medium of communication as acceptable.
Since different groups gather for different reasons, the dynamics and themes of groups highly vary. It should be first established why the group has come together, and all roles within the group must be determined. When a group first comes together, it is really hard to determine how they would work together, and there still may be some reservation on the parts of the members who are not yet fully comfortable in working with the group. However, as time goes by, the group’s dynamics and their theme will soon arise, and patterns within the group’s communication can be seen. There should be an effort for language and cultural inclusion, especially in the workplace. Too many instances of racism and stereotyping are used so casually, affecting not just Australian Aboriginals, but others from minority groups (Collishaw and Morris vii).
In my experiences during my career, there have been problems in communication. Some people really just did not understand others, and this created problems in the workplace. There should be more of an effort to include those who are from an indigenous background. Everyone would expect others to adapt to their own style and their own way of doing this, and this created chaos within the group.
This came in many different forms such as language, culture or even a person’s level of openness. For example, during my job in the construction industry, I had to communicate with a lot of different people: architects, engineers, contractors, etc. These people all had different communication styles, and it came as relevant to their position. I was also my job to understand these communication styles, and make them work for the better of the project. Not only should we strive to understand each individual’s communication style, but we should be more open to language and cultural barriers, especially those plaguing Australian Aboriginals, which are the reasons why so many indigenous people are being left out in work and in school (Pederson 561; Melor 474).
A team or a group has to be very comfortable with each other for the effective participation of all members. I experienced this through working in a construction company where everyone loved our group leader. Because everyone admired and respected our leader, there was an ongoing communication flow and there was effective participation seen in all group members. This great type of leadership is rare, and usually people do not like to follow orders from a leader which they do not generally like or respect (Greens 6). Respect can come in many forms. I strongly believe that a leader who is open to change, tolerance and one who can embrace all cultures will make our country stronger.
When it came to individual communication styles, it either worked for the group or it didn’t. This all depended on how well everyone embraced different communication styles of people (Larson 322). This was seen a lot within the workplace with conflicting characters and personalities of individuals. A lot of the time it came to a problem of understanding each other and this lead to frustration. When someone did not understand another’s communication style, this lead to mistakes within the group, and often there would be someone to blame.
When this type of miscommunication is seen in the group, a lot of chaos comes about and there would be problems within the group which would arise and become personal. The only way to get through to these problems within communication and individual styles is for everyone to understand other people’s individual communication styles and use this for the better productivity within the group, for the achievement of the organization’s overall goals and objectives. It is sad to see that there are many cultural aspects of Australian Aboriginals being ignored throughout the country (Larson 322). Although there is an effort to include my people in the community, language and cultural barriers are still set very high. Anti-discrimination laws, until this day still fail to result in any successful prosecutions.
Works Cited
Cowlishaw, Gillian, and Barry Morris. "Race matters: Indigenous Australians and
‘our’society." Race Matters: Indigenous Australians and ‘Our’Society(1997): vii.
Larson, Ann, et al. "It's enough to make you sick: the impact of racism on the health of
Aboriginal Australians." Australian and New Zealand journal of public health 31.4
(2007): 322-329.
Mellor, David. "Contemporary racism in Australia: The experiences of Aborigines." Personality
and Social Psychology Bulletin 29.4 (2003): 474-486.
Pedersen, Anne, and Iain Walker. "Prejudice against Australian Aborigines: old‐fashioned and
modern forms." European Journal of Social Psychology 27.5 (1997): 561-587.
Rachel Greens 'Australia blasted by UN committee', Koori Mail 484 p.6
