Stories of how minorities in Singapore have to grapple with discrimination in their daily life have been shared more widely recently, following a recent rash of racially charged incidents that have opened up a national conversation on race.

On social media platforms, such as @minorityvoices on Instagram, anecdotes of casually racist or discriminatory incidents that have occurred in the workplace are rife - someone recalls hearing their colleague use racial slurs after speaking to Indian customers, while others spoke of how minorities faced prejudice when looking for jobs.

Finance Minister Lawrence Wong took a strong stance against such behaviour in a speech last month, when he noted that "these things do happen, not always, and perhaps not even often, but sometimes".

"And when they do happen, they cause real hurt, which is not erased by lightly dismissing them as casual remarks or jokes."

He said that minorities here - just as in any other country - may face more difficulties than other races, and called on members of the Chinese majority here to do more to make their minority friends, neighbours and co-workers feel comfortable.

Worryingly, an Institute of Policy Studies-OnePeople.sg study released in 2019 also found that almost 60 per cent of Malays and 56 per cent of Indians perceived discriminatory treatment at work. This was a slight increase from the 58.7 per cent of Malays and 52.6 per cent of Indians five years ago.

Mr Wong's remarks are a timely reminder for many of us Singaporeans, who may have been blind or oblivious to the hurt that our remarks and actions - unconscious or otherwise - may have had on others.

At the same time, it could take time for real change to be achieved on the ground, given that people may lack the resources or training to understand what actions and behaviour can hurt others.

The workplace can be one area in which more targeted action can be taken, given that most adult Singaporeans spend a substantial amount of time at work. Targeting adults also helps them serve as better role models for their children.

More training and education on how to correct and address racist or biased behaviour can make a huge difference in reducing the amount of such incidents that we hear about online, or from our friends.

Current gaps

Currently, the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep) has guidelines in place to address discriminatory behaviour in the workplace, including racial discrimination.

They spell out how discrimination should be avoided when it comes to job advertisements, hiring and assessing the performance of employees, among other things.

Employers who flout the guidelines could face administrative penalties, such as having their work pass privileges curtailed, said Institute for Human Resource Professionals chief executive Mayank Parekh.

Cases of offensive remarks at work can also be reported to Tafep. "But casually racist remarks are often hard to prove and go unreported," said Mr Ian Lim, head of employment and labour at TSMP Law Corporation.

There is currently also no mandatory requirement for companies to have a policy on diversity and inclusion, said Mr Lim. Such policies ensure that all workers from diverse backgrounds are treated fairly, and feel involved, valued and respected at work.

Diversity and inclusion training is also not widespread among most Singapore employers, said Mr Parekh.

What else can be done

Introducing more legislation and regulations may not be the best solution, as they may not address the root causes of racism in the workplace, said Mr Lim and Mr Parekh.

Instead, education and training efforts can be stepped up, especially since such programmes to address racism or unconscious bias, when workers collaborate with or evaluate their colleagues in the office, are not widely adopted.

Many training resources are already publicly available to kick-start such efforts. For instance, the website okayornot.sg, started by volunteers from the not-for-profit collective Better.sg, provides an interactive platform for Singaporeans to have respectful conversations about race.

Users of the website are shown statements or examples of actions in everyday life, and are told to decide whether these actions or statements are "okay" or "not okay" to say or do in daily life.

Some examples of these statements include: "You're not like most Indians I meet" or "I try to avoid eating with my Malay colleagues because it's difficult to find halal food".

There are no right or wrong answers, though respondents will be shown the answers given by other respondents, which offers up a useful starting point for them to reflect on how some actions that they perceive as acceptable could be hurtful to others. More safe spaces to discuss such instances of casual discrimination at work can also be carved out, to allow employees to speak honestly and candidly about their experiences.

As part of the OneWorkplace.sg initiative led by the National Integration Working Group for Workplaces, funding support is available for companies that wish to organise bonding or volunteering programmes to build trust between local and non-local staff.

Perhaps such funding support can also be extended to firms that wish to introduce diversity and inclusion programmes in their workplaces, with a focus on addressing racial biases - whether or not they involve local or foreign staff.

There should also be a framework or criteria to evaluate the success of such efforts. For instance, annual company-wide surveys can be conducted by an appointed third party.

Mr Alvin Goh, executive director of the Singapore Human Resources Institute, suggested that more firms adopt an "anti-discrimination" indicator, where employers can track their progress in combating prejudice in the workplace.

More firms should also adopt a transparent and comprehensive policy on addressing and combating racism in the workplace. This involves spelling out what discriminatory or racist behaviour could look like in employee handbooks, and developing a system for follow-up action that can be taken should any employee experience or witness such behaviour.

This could include counselling or coaching perpetrators, as well as penalties in severe cases.

Resources for specific industries could also be helpful.

For instance, in the healthcare industry, toolkits could be developed to draw attention to bias when handling patients.

In other countries, there have been reports of how doctors and nurses may be dismissive of symptoms when a patient of a particular race highlights them, and perceive this as an exaggeration on their part rather than a condition that genuinely requires attention.

In the property sector, property agents should also advise their clients against stating their racial preferences - or better yet, from having racial preferences - when renting out their units.

We need to harness the energy from the conversations on race that are ongoing right now and direct it towards such educational efforts. If adopted on a large scale, they can bring about meaningful change, and ensure that workers are spared hurtful comments or actions.