I would like to begin by acknowledging and paying my respects to the Eora people, the traditional owners of the land on which we are meeting today. Commissioner Bill Jonas has already talked about the upcoming World Conference Against Racism and the importance of using this opportunity to speak out against racism, xenophobia and intolerance. As the Sex Discrimination Commissioner I believe that we should use the World Conference Against Racism to adopt a gender-based approach to the analysis of racism. Australia is one of the most ethnically diverse nations in the world.
Women make up over half of Australia's population.
Without looking at how women, particularly different groups of women, experience racism, we are unable to understand or properly work to eliminate both racism and sexism. Racism and sexism compound other forms of discrimination and if this multidimensional aspect is not recognized, simple responses to women as only raced or sexed beings, will be, at best, limited and at worst, harmful. In addition, racism and sexism do not affect all women equally or in the same way. A woman's socio-economic position, race, ethnicity, color, national or ethnic origin, her citizenship status, religion or class will affect the way she is treated and responded to by others including other women and by the system. To promote and protect the rights of all persons to be free from racial discrimination, it is necessary to ensure the rights of women when they are similarly situated to men and when they are not.