December 2021
A reform agenda for federal discrimination laws
Lost productivity ($2.6 billion) represented the largest component of the estimated economic
cost of workplace sexual harassment, with the largest share of this borne by employers.
The Commission urged that, ‘[t]ogether with the non-financial impacts on victims, the very
significant economic costs provide a compelling case for investment by governments and
employers in preventing and addressing workplace sexual harassment’.13
As set out in the Respect@Work report, the Deloitte report identified that:
•
the vast majority of the costs associated with lost productivity
(approximately $1.8 billion or 70%) were borne by Australian
businesses14
•
the private sector shouldered the majority of lost productivity
costs (approximately $2.2 billion) in comparison to the public
sector ($393.7 million)15
•
victims of workplace sexual harassment spent an estimated $103.5
million in accessing the health and justice systems.16
The Commission concluded that, ‘[r]ather than costing employers, government and victims
an estimated $3.5 billion annually, by taking action to prevent and address workplace sexual
harassment, Australia has the opportunity to invest in better health and economic outcomes
for its workers and workplaces’.17
Research has also been conducted in the health sector, measuring the link between racial
discrimination and determinants of health. One meta study summarised the ways in which
racism can impact health as follows:
(1) reduced access to employment, housing and education and/or increased
exposure to risk factors (e.g., avoidable contact with police); (2) adverse
cognitive/emotional processes and associated psychopathology; (3) allostatic
load [i.e. the cumulative health burden of chronic stress and life events] ; (4)
diminished participation in healthy behaviors (e.g., sleep and exercise) and/
or increased engagement in unhealthy behaviors (e.g., alcohol consumption)
either directly as stress coping, or indirectly, via reduced self-regulation; and (5)
physical injury as a result of racially-motivated violence.18
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FREE AND EQUAL An Australian Conversation on Human Rights