(Structural/Institutional) Racism as defined by:

The German Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination defines racist discrimination “as any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on “race”, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.”

Institutional racism refers to forms of discrimination, exclusion or disparagement that emanate from a society’s institution, such as the police, public authorities or schools. It is not rooted in the prejudices or derogatory attitudes of the acting individuals. Rather, it is the interpretation or application of rules, regulations, norms, routines or ingrained practices that lead to the direct or indirect discrimination of certain population groups. Institutional racism is usually harder to identify than individual-level forms such as racist slurs or assaults and calls for other approaches to fighting it.

By contrast, structural racism cannot be traced down to individual institutions. Instead, it is about historically and socially evolved power relations that are deeply rooted in a society’s structures, discourses or imagery. Such structures can also prevent certain population groups such as those with a migrant background or people of colour from being represented in key policy-making, administrative or economic positions proportionately to their share in the overall population.¹

The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Racism is the process by which systems and policies, actions and attitudes create inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race. Racism is more than just prejudice in thought or action. It occurs when this prejudice – whether individual or institutional – is accompanied by the power to discriminate against, oppress or limit the rights of others. Racism includes all the laws, policies, ideologies and barriers that prevent people from experiencing justice, dignity, and equity because of their racial identity. It can come in the form of harassment, abuse or humiliation, violence or intimidating behaviour. However, racism also exists in systems and institutions that operate in ways that lead to inequity and injustice.²

The AHRC National Anti-Racism Framework Scoping Report 2022

Systemic and structural racism refer to cultural norms, laws, ideologies, policies, and practices that are designed to promote the interests of a single demographic while creating barriers or reinforcing racial inequity for individuals outside of this demographic. This macro level functioning of racism operates without needing dedicated laws, policies or practices to keep it in place, and underpins and enables other forms of racism to operate. ³

The Racism No Way Education for Australian Schools

Institutional racism (or systemic racism) describes forms of racism which are structured into political and social institutions.

It occurs when organisations, institutions or governments discriminate, either deliberately or indirectly, against certain groups of people to limit their rights. This form of racism reflects the cultural assumptions of the dominant group, so that the practices of that group are seen as the norm to which other cultural practices should conform. It regularly and systematically advantages some ethnic and cultural groups and disadvantages and marginalises others. ⁴

The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand

Institutional racism is the inherent bias of structures and institutions on which our society is built. In Aotearoa New Zealand the term institutional racism first entered public discourse in the 1970s and in two government reports published in the 1980s. Pūao-Te-Ata-Tū focused on overt, intentional forms of discrimination, defining institutional racism as:

 … the outcome of monocultural institutions which simply ignore and freeze out the cultures who do not belong to the majority. National structures are evolved which are rooted in the values, systems and viewpoints of one culture only (1988, p19). In 2021, in the report Whakatika: A Survey of Māori Experiences of Racism institutional racism is described as Legislation, policies, practices, material conditions, processes or requirements that maintain and provide avoidable and unfair differences and access to power across ethnic/racial groups.

In her PhD thesis, teacher Liana MacDonald explores how our education system was established with the view that it would “civilise” or “Europeanise” the indigenous Māori population and that the values and structures that formed the basis of schooling, disadvantaged Māori from the very beginning, with many of these structures still existing today.

He Awa Ara Rau, a study of 70,000 Māori learners said Māori were disproportionately represented in low-ability classes, which hampered their ability to get the qualifications that lead to well-paid jobs. “How students are streamed is in itself problematic. Bias and deficit thinking play a key role in this. The number of Māori placed in foundation classes is way out of proportion to non-Māori. This is systemic racism,” ⁵