Approaches to Cultural Diversity

Section 5:
Inclusion and Exclusion from a
Cultural Perspective

Section overview
This section explores inclusion and exclusion from a cultural perspective and describes
how social and political power within society influences how people or groups from
diverse cultural backgrounds are included or excluded. We will discuss how racism,
prejudice, and discrimination often prevent access to public and private services for
various groups of people.

Objectives
By the end of this section, you should be able to:

define inclusion and exclusion

define power and describe the consequences of power imbalance

describe the causes and forms of exclusion

distinguish between different levels of marginalisation

demonstrate how racism prevents access to various public and private services,
including counselling services

understand the process of the devaluation of culture and the impact it has on the
individual

recognise how the processes of prejudice operate in our minds and behaviours as
practitioners

describe inclusion and affirmative action

identify the major legislation that attempts to address exclusion

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

Section Contents
Section requirements ..................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 2
Politics and discourse .................................................................................................................... 3
Power ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Exclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Marginalisation ............................................................................................................................... 7
Racism.............................................................................................................................................. 9
Devaluation of culture .................................................................................................................11
Prejudice and discrimination ......................................................................................................11
Social inclusion .............................................................................................................................12
Social justice ..................................................................................................................................13
Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................15

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

Section requirements
Activities
There are four activities in this section.

Textbook
There is no textbook for this module.

Readings
There are three readings for this section. You will find them in the readings
pack for this module:
11.

Van Krieken, R., Habibis, D., Smith, P., Hutchins, B., Haralambos, M.,
& Holborn, M. (2006). Race, ethnicity, national identity and
Aboriginality. In Sociology, themes and perspectives (3rd ed., pp. 261-299).
Sydney: Pearson Education.

12.

Clyne, M. (2008, November 23). A linguists vision for multicultural

Australia. Eureka Street. Retrieved March 20, 2009 from
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=9919

13.

Anti-Discrimination Board of New South Wales (2009). ADB factsheet:

Discrimination, EEO and affirmative action. Lawlink. Retrieved August
21, 2009, from
http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/adb/ll_adb.nsf/vwFiles/Disc
%20EEO+%20AA%200106%20for%20web.pdf/$file/Disc%20EEO
+%20AA%200106%20for%20web.pdf

Self-Assessment
Please complete the self-assessment questions at the end of this section to test
your understanding and knowledge against the objectives stated in this section.

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

Introduction
Generally, social scientists agree that most societies are in some way stratified, with
individuals and groups facing inclusion and exclusion, however, there is some debate
about how this impacts on people in terms of access to social rewards.
In this section we will examine inclusion and exclusion from a socioeconomic and
cultural perspective.
Firstly, we consider the power of political discourse in creating a national culture that
values or devalues cultural diversity and encourages inclusion or exclusionary practices.
We will briefly define power in relation to acculturation and review the consequence of
power imbalance.
Whilst some of the content has been written with the practitioner in mind, many of the
principles apply to others, including coaches and managers.
Secondly, we examine exclusion and marginalization, and the role that racism, prejudice,
and discrimination often play in preventing access to public and private services for
various groups of people. The affect of these processes on individuals and groups in
terms of cultural devaluation will also be examined.
Finally, we will identify the main legislation that exists in Australia that attempts to make
exclusion illegal.

Reading
Van Krieken, R., Habibis, D., Smith, P., Hutchins, B., Haralambos, M., &
Holborn, M. (2006). Race, ethnicity, national identity and Aboriginality. In
Sociology, themes and perspectives (3rd ed., pp. 261-299). Sydney: Pearson
Education.
This reading explores the concept of belonging to a group and the ways that
these structures influence social inclusion and exclusion, especially in relation
to Indigenous Australians.

Activity 5.1
Consider the following opinions about asylum seekers in Australia and
identify the elements that emerge from fear and prejudice or xenophobia:

Were being swamped by hoards of boat people.

If we let just anyone in, we will lose our way of life.

These two statements reflect a fear of difference and a degree of prejudice that only
those who come from similar backgrounds will be able to integrate and contribute to
Australian culture.

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

Politics and discourse

Patterns of racial or ethnic interaction are influenced by social variables, including power,
discrimination, and prejudice. Political factors, such as a change in government, affect
immigration policies and influence attitudes within a society.
To demonstrate this point we will consider the attitude towards inclusion of cultural
diversity from the previous government under John Howard and that of the current
Labor government under Kevin Rudd.
Under the Howard government, a discourse of overt exclusion and division was
rampant, manifested for instance in the demonization of asylum seekers, attacks
on multiculturalism, on Muslims and African refugees and the exclusionary
debate on Australian values (Clyne, 2008, para. 1).
Michael Clyne (2008) claims that the Labor government, whilst faring better than the
previous one, has a discourse which will cause covert exclusion through invisibility. He
notes that there is no federal minister for multicultural affairs and there was no section
dealing with Australias cultural diversity at the 2020 Summit in 2008.
Clyne (2008) argues that whilst there is a social inclusion agenda, it has a narrow focus,
being limited to those who face economic and social disadvantage. In other words, it has
not developed beyond socioeconomic inclusion.
Clyne (2008) makes a very valid point when he argues that social exclusion is not just
socioeconomic exclusion (although that is a very real and damaging form of exclusion). By
making cultural inclusion a dimension of social inclusion, it should foster the recognition
that those from diverse cultural backgrounds contribute socially and organisationally.

Reading
Clyne, M. (2008, November 23). A linguists vision for multicultural Australia.
Eureka Street. Retrieved March 20, 2009 from
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=9919
This reading provides a strong case for broadening the definition of inclusion
and exclusion. The author argues that unless social inclusion policy can move
beyond the socioeconomic dimension, it may further the social exclusion of
significant sections of Australian society.

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

Activity 5.2
The Clyne article notes that Australia has done well to develop ways to
increase inclusion. Strategies include flexible multilingual frameworks such as
SBS radio and TV, Year 12 exams in multiple languages, government schools
of languages, and telephone interpreting.
1.

Have you ever had reason to use or access any of these services? If yes,
please briefly describe the benefits. If not, reflect and note down your
reasons for not doing so.

2.

If you are an overseas student describe similar services that operate in

your country and briefly describe the benefits.

Responses will depend on your personal experiences.

Power
The direction in which a particular culture or racial group progresses toward
acculturation is strongly influenced by the interactions between the dominant culture and
the minority culture. Various forms of power often motivate these interactions.
Diller (2007) defines power as: the capacity to produce desired effects on others
(p. 161). He further notes that the helping relationship of practitioner/client can be
viewed as one of imbalance, in favour of the practitioner. Similarly, in the workplace a
manager will generally have more power than the employee.
Diller (2007) suggests this is more likely to occur if the practitioner is unaware of his or her
own cultural identity or is uncomfortable with or unaware of aspects of the clients cultural
identity. He suggests practitioners introduce practices that equalize or reverse the power
relationship, perhaps by allowing the client to take on the role of cultural expert.

Consequences of power imbalance

William Wilson (1973) wrote about three probabilities that can occur in a dominantsubordinate system:
1.

dominant group accedes to demands of minority

2.

dominant group meets some demands through concessions

3.

dominant group rejects demands

As a result of conflict, which occurs in a situation of power imbalance, three major

consequences may happen:
1.

acceptance

2.

aggression

3.

avoidance

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

The result of conflict belongs to both sides although we frequently see it as the minority
reaction. In Australian society we often see and experience one or more of these
occurring from dominant-subordinate interactions. Trained cross-cultural practitioners
are likely to have mixed reactions to these conflicts. This is because they can feel
helpless or overwhelmed by the demands placed upon them as members of the dominant
culture, in the process of equalising power.

Acceptance
People in a subordinate position may attempt to become like those in the dominant
culture in order to achieve acceptance and a sense of belonging. This may mean they will
acquiesce or conform. This is especially so with adolescents due to their desire for peer
acceptance. Consequently, it is not uncommon for a second or third generation
adolescent to deny cultural identity.
Some people are relieved to be in a country without physical or political abuse and
compensate by accepting the structure of the Australian society. Sometimes acceptance
is simply the easiest response to make.
A very strong cultural value that many people coming to Australia hold in high regard is a
patriarchal system with a clearly defined family structure and specific gender roles. This
notion of family and patriarchy is often transferred to their relationships with members
of the dominant culture. Another strong value held by many immigrants from other
cultures is that of fate. Often, they do not dare to question the status quo.
The three major ways people show they accept the dominant cultural norms are:

Ritualistic adaptation: the rules and norms of the culture are stressed; people
abide by the prescriptions of the society and parents encourage their children to
take on the standards of the dominant culture.

Super patriotism: over-identification occurs and sometimes incongruous actions

occur. Examples include singing the national anthem, flying the Australian flag,
and using jargon. These can be concerted efforts to relieve isolation and stress by
being seen to belong.

Internalisation of stress: people may take on a semblance of neutrality by not

reacting to the tension of power imbalance. They may assume a calm or peaceful
appearance in order to cover up anger or distress. This way of dealing with stress
can affect an individual and may manifest in a psychosomatic illness.

Aggression
Aggression may be direct or indirect but it usually involves some form of retaliation.
Aggression may also be displaced or manifested by a change in goals.
Examples of aggression include people rebelling or joining a cause that is designed to
upset the power base or system. In so doing, they may become demanding and
manipulative of the system in order to get control and power. Rights may be asserted if
respect and regard are not given. In more serious scenarios, complaints and defamations
may be carried out. Antagonism may result from the slightest issues.

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

More indirect forms of aggression include artistic expression, using humour, passive
resistance, being inefficient or irresponsible, non-compliance, unreliability, challenging
opinions, and exaggerating or denying their ethnicity, accent or language.
Sometimes people will under-achieve or over-achieve. Over-achievers perform with the
intention of appearing to be better than the dominant group. Even within a particular
cultural group, individuals may displace aggression by scapegoating another member.
Some people form groups for legal or political means as a rebellious action. They do not
want to become part of the dominant culture, therefore they rise up in gangs, factions, or
sub-cultures. They under-achieve, refusing to put effort into the dominant cultures
expectations or social obligations.

Avoidance
Harry Kitano (1985) stated that people may avoid situations in which they expect
prejudice (p. 79). For example, people may not apply for housing in certain areas, walk
away from the opportunity to communicate, use cosmetics that enable them to pass as a
member of the dominant culture, resort to drugs, or withdraw into mental illness.
Some ethnic people change their names, accents and alter their features. They may
seclude themselves or hide by becoming excessively mobile.
In our society we have people who have migrated here and have found the tension too
much to manage. They have retreated from the social norms by becoming chronic
alcoholics, drug addicts, homeless, or social outcasts. For adolescents, dropping out of
school is another way of escaping from reality. Flight into mental illness and suicide are
extreme forms of avoidance (Kingsbury, 1994).

Activity 5.3
1.

Describe a personal experience you have observed or experienced

which illustrates one of the three modes of managing power imbalance
in our society, in relation to cross-cultural interactions.

2.

If you were a counsellor and the person related this experience to you,
how would you demonstrate empathy to the client?

Your response will depend on the experience you describe. Empathy could
be demonstrated by showing an understanding of these responses and by
explaining the psychological reasons people may respond to power imbalance
by acceptance, aggression, or avoidance.

Exclusion
Social exclusion is a concept that is used to characterise contemporary forms of social
disadvantage. It can affect one person or a community where they are unable to access
the rights, resources, and opportunities normally available to members of a society.

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

Social exclusion has no one definition. However for the purposes of this module we will
use the following definition:
Social exclusion is a multidimensional process of progressive social rupture,
detaching groups and individuals from social relations and institutions and
preventing them from full participation in the normal, normatively prescribed
activities of the society in which they live (Silver, 2007, p. 15)

Forms of exclusion
Peter Saunders, Yuvisthi Naidoo, and Megan Griffiths (2007) identify three forms of
exclusion.
1.

Disengagement: this refers to the lack of participation in social and community

activities that are customary and widely practised by members of the community.
This could also refer to social networks, support in times of crisis, disengagement
from political and civic activity, and confinement, resulting from fear of crime or
disability.

2.

Service exclusion: this refers to lack of adequate access to key public services
when needed, including health care, disability or aged care services, or private
services such as child care and utilities.

3.

Economic exclusion: this refers to restricted access to economic resources, low

economic capacity, and access to the labour market.

Causes of exclusion
Exclusion can be caused by: xenophobia (racism), devaluation of culture, prejudice, and
discrimination. We will examine these in more detail shortly.
Issues such as educational levels, geographical location, living standards, poverty, mental
health, homelessness and family dynamics may also affect access to various
opportunities. The extent of the exclusion may vary, depending on the resilience of the
affected person or group and the power of the perpetrator. It may be covert or overt.
Exclusion applies in varying degrees to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples,
migrants and refugees, people with a disability, to minority men and women of all
cultural backgrounds, to the elderly, gays, and to youth. Indeed, anyone who deviates in
any perceived way from the norm of a society may become subject to social exclusion in
one form or another.
Additionally, there are groups who may self-exclude by removing themselves physically
from the larger community. Such groups include nuns living in a Catholic convent or a
Buddhist gompa or people who choose to live in a gated security complex.

Marginalisation
Marginalisation is an example of forceful exclusion resulting from discrimination (Berry,
Poortinga, Segall, & Dasen, 2002). It is also describes the social process of being
relegated to a lower social standing and involves people being denied degrees of power.

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

John Berry et al. (2002) view marginalisation as a form of acculturation (the process
individuals undergo in response to a changing cultural context):
When there is little possibility of cultural maintenance and little interest in having
relations with others (often because of exclusion or discrimination) then
marginalization is defined (p. 355).
Marginalisation can be understood within three levels: individual, community, and globalstructural/policies.

Individual: marginalisation at the individual level results in an individuals

exclusion from meaningful participation in society. An example of marginalisation
is the exclusion of single mothers from the welfare system prior to the welfare
reform of the 1950s. People with disabilities have also been marginalised from the
labour market, ostensibly because of the high cost in accommodating people with
disabilities or the fear of absenteeism.

Community: looking globally, it is not difficult to note examples of communities

experiencing marginalisation, often as a result of colonisation. Forced assimilation
has resulted in marginalisation where not only have many communities lost their
land, their cultures and values, they have also lost many of their rights including
access to the labour market. Today, various communities continue to be
marginalised from society due to the development of practices, policies and
programs that met the needs of white people and not the needs of the
marginalised groups themselves (Yee, 2005, p. 93).
A second example of marginalisation at the community level is the marginalisation
of women. Women were excluded from the labour force and their work in the
home was not valued. Even today, women in Australia are still marginalised from
executive positions and many continue to earn less than men in upper management
positions.

Global and structural: this includes broader social structures actors such as
globalisation, immigration, social welfare, and policy that have the potential to
contribute negatively to ones access to resources and services, resulting in
marginalisation of individuals and groups.

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

Case Study: Matthew

Matthew Howard lived with his partner of 14 years, Maurice. The apartment
they lived in was registered in Maurices name. When Maurice died in 1996
his next of kin under the law at the time was his brother and not Matthew.
This meant that Maurices brother automatically inherited the entire estate
and could evict Matthew from his own home.
Matthew was able to apply to the court as a dependant under NSW Family
Provision laws. Under such laws a person who has lived with the deceased
and been financially dependant upon them can argue that they are a deserving
beneficiary who needs to be provided for under the estate.
If Matthew had lived in any state other than NSW, even this option would
not have been open to him as NSW is the only state to have such a catch-all
category in this kind of law. Eventually, the court granted Matthew the
apartment and a sum from the estate. However Matthew had to spend three
years fighting the case, and was still granted significantly less than a
heterosexual partner would have automatically inherited.
Since the 1999 reforms, a partner such as Matthew automatically inherits his
partners estate. The appeal decision Andrews v Howard [1999] NSWCA
409 is available at
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWCA/1999/409.html
Source: Millbank, J. (2005). Hot topics: Legal issues in plain language: Same-sex families (p. 6).
Retrieved August 24, 2009, from
http://www.liac.sl.nsw.gov.au/hot/pdf/same_sex_fam_53.pdf

Racism
As an ideology, racism existed during the 19th century as scientific racism and
attempted to provide a racial classification of humanity. Although such racist ideologies
have been widely discredited after World War II and the Holocaust, the phenomena of
racism and of racial discrimination have remained widespread all over the world. Some
examples of this in present day are evident in statistics, including the higher-than-average
numbers of Indigenous Australians in custody.
Traditionally, racism has been defined as prejudice and the abuse of power based on
racial or ethnic differences. Prejudice and discrimination, which are components of
racism, referred to the negative stereotyping and treatment of people based on broader
characteristics, including religion.
The concept of race has been replaced by the term ethnicity. This is an example of a
socially constructed term that is no longer seen as valid or useful when describing
differences of cultural or ethnic background. In other words, there is no such thing as
race! There is however, still a strong use of the term racism which refers to
discrimination against one ethnic group by another based on appearance.

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

Types of racism

Individual racism: refers to individuals who hold prejudiced attitudes and who
act toward members of minority groups in a racist manner. The individual may
hold erroneous and negative beliefs about particular groups. Consequently they
may take action to discriminate against any member of this group.

Cultural racism: refers to the domination of one group over another in terms of:
language, norms, values, standards, attitudes, and discriminatory behaviour against
members of minority groups based on perceived cultural differences (such as dress,
music, dance, language, religion, customs, and social behaviour).

Institutional racism: (also known as state, structural or systemic racism) refers to

system inequalities. Members of particular ethnic groups are excluded from
participation in major social institutions. These institutions may be public or private
and include educational facilities, health services, public services and political parties.

Ethnic nationalism: has as its basis the belief in a hereditary membership of the
nation. Ethnic nationalism has contributed to numerous examples of genocide
and ethnic cleansing, including the Nazi attempt to eliminate the Jewish people,
and the slaughters of millions of Armenians, Rwandans, and the Muslim
communities in the former Yugoslavia.

The following model charts the first three kinds of racism described above.
Figure 7: Kinds of racism

Source: Chambers, B. (1986). Anti-racism: A handbook for adult educators (p. 49). Canberra: Australian
Government Publishing Service.

10

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

There are two levels of racism according to Barbara Chambers (1986):

1.

Conscious: for example, the development of a policy statement that Australias

immigration should be limited to English-speakers (institutional); beliefs that
Muslims are inherently more prone to extremism, refusal to hire Arabic-speaking
people and name-calling (individual)

2.

Unconscious: for example, when uniform requirements for a profession do not

take into account cultural or religious requirements (institutional); laughing at racist
jokes (individual)

Devaluation of culture
Racism has an impact on the process of acculturation for immigrants whose identity
may be based on an immigrant background, language, and certain cultural traditions
and histories.
Desmond Cahill and John Ewen (1988, as cited in Vasta, 1994) suggest that Australians
must face up to community racism against minority groups. This is particularly
important for the children of immigrants.
Those who are confronted with racist attitudes and remarks may have difficulty
in identity achievement as this process can be interrupted by devaluation. It is
not uncommon for second-generation youth to be ashamed of their parents
cultural background if they perceive their new host country devalues their
background. Feeling that Australians are devaluing their culture, immigrants may
accept the appropriateness of that devaluation, become ashamed of and seek to
reject their own past. In this way they think they can win acceptance by the host
country. Such a reaction can cause much harm, especially to the development of
a positive sense of identity, biculturalism and linguistic skills in the children of
ethnic immigrants (Cox, 1989, p. 5).
Devaluation may create identity dissonance. Dissonance is a condition of incongruity
between how you define yourself and how others define you. It can be seen as context
based and as a cognitive process.
Devaluation has not only occurred with many second-generation youth in Australia, it
has also affected many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Prejudice and discrimination

Whilst most attention is paid to prejudice in Western societies, it is undoubtedly a
universal feature of intercultural relations (Berry et al. 2002, p. 371).
Berry et al. (2002) describe prejudice as having three variables:
1.

Cognitive: refers to stereotypes and shared beliefs about characteristics of groups.

2.

Affective: refers to attitudes and evaluations of groups.

3.

Behavioural: refers to discriminatory actions taken in dealing with a group.

Discrimination is considered a concrete outcome to these three variables.

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

11

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

Prejudice can involve four processes:

1.

Categorising: this is a process of placing objects or people into categories or

groups. This is a normal aspect of life and helps people cognitively deal with the
complexities of life. Categorising is inevitable and necessary.

2.

Stereotyping: this is a process where people are assigned certain characteristics

because they belong to a particular category or group. Although they may not
actually have those characteristics, they are considered to have them anyway.

3.

Evaluating: this is a process that involves the making of judgements or

evaluations based on stereotyping.

4.

Controlling: this is a process that is used to direct or control actual behaviour

based on the above processes.

An example of this process occurred in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the
United States. The conflict was quickly framed in religious and cultural terms the
group alleged responsible were Muslim and Arabic speaking, the victims largely North
American. Anti-Muslim sentiment grew and within days of the attacks, Muslims were
framed as the enemies of democracy.
Some prejudice emerges from peoples fear of difference or losing what is familiar.

Discrimination
As noted, discrimination is considered a concrete outcome to the three variables of
prejudice discussed earlier in this section. Discrimination may be overt or covert.
Overt discrimination is obvious and direct. For example, failing to hire a farmer into a
conservation role because as the manager you believe farmers are inherently anticonservation.
Covert discrimination is indirect. For example, when an employer says the
organisation requires a person who has a fair complexion to sell their cosmetic line.
We will now consider the concept of inclusion.

Social inclusion
Social inclusion refers to strategies to combat social exclusion. It is a coordinated
response to the very complex system of problems of social exclusion. It does not
attempt to make reparations for past wrongs which is the intent of affirmative action.
The notion of social inclusion can vary according to the type of strategies an organisation
adopts. For example, a counselling service may seek to employ practitioners who are
open to people from different cultural backgrounds in an attempt to encourage greater
participation in counselling services. However, statistics reflect a low percentage of
people from different ethnic cultures seeking counselling services. This raises the
following questions:

To what degree are counselling services appropriate to diverse cultures?

How might current counselling reflect the dominant cultures values?

12

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

How might there be an assumption that ethnic communities do not seek

counselling because they dont need it?

What reasons might exist for why a particular cultural group does not seek/access
available counselling services?

Counsellors may need to reach out, inform and educate ethnic communities about their
services, and adopt other culturally appropriate counselling approaches.

Social justice
Social justice refers to what needs to be done to make health (or any other social issue)
an equal playing field for the entire population. Medicare is an example of the social
justice principles in action. It provides all members of the population with the
opportunity to access basic medical services and hospital care, regardless of differences,
including socioeconomic status, ethnic background, gender, or age. There are a number
of principles which need to be in place in a society for social justice to be functional.
They include: rights, equity (fairness vs. equality), access, and participation.

Affirmative action
People generally use the term affirmative action to describe strategies for groups who
have been disadvantaged in the past. For example, an employer may run special training
or recruitment programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, reconfigure
work spaces for people with disabilities, introduce part-time work for parents or carers,
or review promotional procedures to ensure promotions are made on the basis of merit.

Anti-discrimination
The main grounds for discrimination are based on gender and race. The majority of the
complaints in Australia are employment related. People who believe they have been
discriminated against may first talk to the person or agency that is discriminating against
them. If it is a work-related problem, the union may help. If the client is not satisfied,
they can register a complaint with the Anti-Discrimination Board.

Legislation
The main Federal laws that have been written to counter discrimination are the:

Age Discrimination Act 2004

Disability Discrimination Act 1992

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986

Racial Discrimination Act 1975

Sex Discrimination Act 1984

The following reading provides more information on relevant Acts.

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

13

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

Reading
Anti-Discrimination Board of New South Wales (2009). ADB factsheet:
Discrimination, EEO and affirmative action. Lawlink. Retrieved August 21,
2009, from
http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/adb/ll_adb.nsf/vwFiles/Disc%20E
EO+%20AA%200106%20for%20web.pdf/$file/Disc%20EEO+%20AA%2
00106%20for%20web.pdf
Many people ask what the difference is between discrimination, equal
employment opportunity (often called EEO) and affirmative action. This
factsheet explains what people usually mean when they use these three terms
in relation to employment.

Activity 5.4

14

1.

On a sheet of paper, draw a circle with spokes out of it. Write

RACISM within the circle and then freely associate words and
concepts that come to your mind when you think about racism.

2.

Try to cluster your associations into feelings, consequences,

descriptions and so forth. Then write a sentence or paragraph on your
own definition of racism.

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

Approaches to Cultural Diversity

Conclusion
In this section, we examined inclusion and exclusion from a socioeconomic and cultural
perspective. We defined power and considered the consequences of power imbalance
for people from diverse cultural backgrounds and discussed them in terms of acceptance,
avoidance, and aggression.
We then examined exclusion, marginalisation and inclusion, and discussed the roles
racism, prejudice, and discrimination play in preventing access to public and private
services for various groups of people. Finally, we identified the main legislation that
exists in Australia that attempts to make the practice and forms of exclusion illegal in
Australia and elsewhere.
As practitioners working in environments characterized by cultural diversity, it is important
to develop and maintain a non-judgmental and unbiased attitude and recognise exclusion,
including marginalisation, as a systemic problem, not the fault of the individual.
In order to evolve into an egalitarian society, Australians must avoid blaming and
practicing racism toward members of other cultural backgrounds. In addition, white
Australians need to become mindful of discrimination and racism against Aboriginal
Australians and Torres Strait Islander people.

Self-Assessment
Did you achieve the objectives for this section? To test your knowledge,
write brief answers to the following questions:
1.

Distinguish between different levels of power and how equality and

inequality within each level shapes interaction between groups.

2.

Cite an example of how racism may prevent access to counselling

services.

3.

How do the processes of prejudice operate in our minds and

behaviours as practitioners?

4.

Identify two different types of discrimination and explain how you plan
to educate clients on the laws pertaining to discrimination.

Section 5: Inclusion and Exclusion from a Cultural Perspective

15