Human
Rights and Business Education

Speech by Professor Alice
Tay, President of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Address
to the Council for Equal Opportunity in Employment Limited, Grace Hotel,
Sydney, 26 August 1998

I am delighted to
have the opportunity to address so many representatives of the Australian
business community here today.

To be honest, this
is a rare occasion for me. Much of my career has been spent in the monastic
cells of academic institutions teaching the young about different legal
systems; their origins and growth, their strengths and weaknesses. Your
world - the world of business and industry, finances, profit and loss,
sales and marketing - is largely foreign to me in a practical sense.

Naturally this gave
me pause to think about what I might usefully share with you today. However,
despite these obvious differences of experience, there is much ground
between us.

This common ground
is the fertile field of education. It is a tremendously rich area that
we are all required to tend and cultivate if we are to be successful in
our field of endeavour.

The philosophy of
education I bring to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
is quite simple. For me, education is not about moralising, telling people
what is good for them. It is not about indoctrination; trying to convince
others to think as I do. And it is not about providing simplistic formulae,
to suggest that things can be done without pain and struggle, discipline
and even sacrifice.

Education, rather,
is a process of growth which passes through a number of stages, taking
an individual, a community, or an organisation on a journey of understanding,
intellectual development and considered action.

Education is grounded
in the gathering of knowledge, facts and information, rules and processes,
about the world around us and how it works. This is the first stage of
education and can be described as the "closed system". This
first step provides us with the ground rules that we share, whether in
academe or in business. It is a stage we cannot avoid passing through.

This first stage
- the closed system - is followed by critical questioning. It leads to
choices, decisions about choices, and actions that are guided by those
choices. Such actions and decisions involve the lives and wellbeing of
ourselves and others. Education prepares us to make decent and proper
choices. It enables us to experiment, to innovate, to create and to change
our lives and the lives of those who come within our sphere of responsibility.

This next stage of
education is known as the "open system". At this point, individuals
or organisations, basing themselves on the ground rules they have learnt,
seek to go beyond simply knowing how things work and towards an understanding
of how they can work better. Experience gives flesh to a body of education.

This philosophy of
education recognises the importance of experiences guiding our actions.
The end result, and chief goal, of education is that we become more effective
members of our community in whatever we are doing. It broadens our sensibilities
and deepens our understanding of the privileges and responsibilities of
being human.

This philosophy of
education applies equally to business and human rights. In business there
are open and closed systems of learning that must be addressed. First
there are the ground rules of business and commerce to learn. Then there
are the creative choices that businesses make as part of the open system
of learning that contribute towards the organisation's growth and development.
The synthesis of these provides the best conditions for production, exchange
and distribution.

The same philosophy
applies to the education of human rights. Human rights education is also
founded on the acceptance of 'open' and 'closed' systems of learning;
the 'ground rules' and the 'experience'.

The ground rules
of human rights - what they are and whom they belong to - are ultimately
very simple. They can be discovered in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, drafted 50 years ago this year, as an answer to the terrible events
which so deeply scarred our world during the Second World War.

In 30 articles, the
Universal Declaration sets out the basic rights that each person shares,
regardless of gender, race or religion. They have been described as the
"rock bottom of human existence" and they include the right
to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of thought
and opinion and the right to equal treatment before a court of law. These
basic rights aim to ensure the common dignity of each person.

Australia is rightly
regarded as a leading nation in the protection of human rights. We have
a culture that is broadly accepting of others and sophisticated legal
mechanisms to guard against discrimination.

However, we are not
perfect. Much important work remains to be done. Indigenous Australians
still lag far behind non-Indigenous Australians in such basic concerns
as health, education and employment. In the workplace, discrimination
continues to be encountered by women, older people, people with disabilities
and people of different racial backgrounds.

Although we have
federal anti-discrimination laws that people can turn to, this alone is
not enough. Education, particularly education in the workplace, is just
as vital as this allows us to counter and prevent discrimination from
occurring in the first place.

Business and industry
are increasingly recognising the value of human rights education in the
workplace. It is now broadly accepted that addressing anti-discrimination
and equal employment opportunity issues makes good business sense. It
ensures that the best person for the job gets the job, employees are given
opportunities to develop their skills and potential, and it generates
greater harmony and productivity for an organisation.

The Human Rights
and Equal Opportunity Commission views education as one of its chief priorities.
Our task is to provide Australians from all walks of life, including business
and industry, with the information and assistance they require to help
them better understand their human rights and their community responsibilities.

Our goal is to ensure
that our education programs are developed in a way that is appropriate
and relevant to the experiences of Australians, that is, an "open
system" of education rather than a "closed" and formalistic
one.

As the Attorney-General
has already mentioned, the Commission last week launched "Race for
Business", a package designed to assist employers understand their
responsibilities under federal laws and combat racial discrimination in
the workplace. This package was developed with the close co-operation
and involvement of industry groups to ensure that it is a helpful and
relevant resource. It was very much a case of drawing on the experience
and expertise of peak business and industry groups.

Again, as the Attorney
has already mentioned, the Commission has also recently relaunched its
Internet site. The address, for the aficionados, is http://www.humanrights.gov.au

The site features
information on all the Commission's portfolio areas, as well as material
written specifically for employers. "Employers Page" was developed
in response to the large number of calls the Commission had received from
employers wanting information on their rights and responsibilities, and
already it is proving to be one of the most popular parts of our web site.

The annual Human
Rights Medal and Awards also has a Corporate category which recognises
the programs and initiatives to eliminate discriminate and promote equal
opportunity in the workplace. Given the significance of this year as the
50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I would
encourage your organisation to consider nominating.

I would also like
to thank the Attorney-General for his request for the Commission to inquire
into and report on discrimination against women in Australian workplaces
on the grounds of pregnancy or potential pregnancy.

This is an important
and timely reference. Complaints of pregnancy discrimination comprise
about 15% of all complaints under the federal Sex Discrimination Act and
it is an issue affecting women across all sectors of employment, from
lower-paid positions through to executives.

I have no doubt that
Ms Susan Halliday, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, will handle this
inquiry with skill and expertise. The inquiry will provide advice to women
workers about their rights under federal laws and will inform and assist
employers about their responsibilities to pregnant or potentially pregnant
workers.

The Commission is
committed to providing the best programs and resources that it can in
order to assist and inform employers about their rights and responsibilities
under federal laws. However, for these initiatives to be successful, they
require constructive feedback and cooperative input from business and
industry.

We rely heavily on
you to provide us with such feedback to ensure that the programs and the
initiatives we seek to develop are of long-term value to your organisations.
It is also an opportunity for us to be educated by you and so continue
to provide educational initiatives that are "open" and dynamic.

I would like conclude
with one final comment.

Australia, like most
other nations, is currently facing a time of great uncertainty and anxiety
which has been triggered by monumental change and upheaval. These changes
are as diverse as structural unemployment; the Asian economic crisis;
withdrawal of services from rural communities; bankruptcy; the fall of
the Australian exchange rate; environmental degradation; globilisation;
and the proposed MAI. If it's not any of those, then it's El Nino

It is self-evident
that business is the engine room of the Australian economy. However, because
we live in a society and not simply an economy, business and industry
have a broader role to play in the Australian community than a simply
commercial one. Along with our elected leaders, our church and religious
leaders and our community leaders, business and industry must also play
a leadership role in responding to these challenges and helping to chart
a path forward towards a fair, equitable, tolerant and prosperous Australia.

One way this can
be achieved is to ensure that education is given its due place in our
communities, such as in the workplace. Through setting strong and positive
examples of non-discrimination and equality of opportunity in the workplace,
a clear message is communicated to the wider community about the sort
of society that we value and that we are committed to achieving.

I am pleased to say
that this example has been set by a great many Australian companies. Furthermore,
for Australian companies that trade internationally, it is important to
ensure that those high standards set at home are also implemented abroad.

As we head towards
the new millennium, and the new challenges that we will undoubtedly face
there, I trust that business and industry will continue to be leaders
in creating and encouraging harmonious, equitable workplaces.

Last
updated 1 December 2001