Institute of International Health, Charité -Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Steinhart School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, New York, New York, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2024 Jan 17;19(1):e0295715. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295715. eCollection 2024.
Racial discrimination adversely impacts health and well-being, and interferes with organizational functioning, including United Nations offices where limited systematic research exists. This article presents and discusses a secondary analysis of data from the 'Survey on Racial Discrimination' issued by the United Nations Staff Union Geneva in 2020. The survey produced quantitative and qualitative data and was completed by 1251 staff, consultants, and interns (response rate: 14.7%). Descriptive statistics were computed for key findings. More than one third (34.4%) of participants reported having personally experienced racial discrimination. Most reported national origin as basis (61.8%), stated that this experience had affected their opportunities for career advancement (66.2%), and took no action as response (57.4%), mainly due to a lack of trust in the organization's recourse mechanism. In addition, more than one third (34.3%) of survey participants had witnessed colleagues being racially discriminated against. Chi-square tests to assess differences between groups showed that those belonging to a racial, ethnic, and/or national minority or group reported higher rates of personally experienced and witnessed incidents of racial discrimination compared to those who did not identify as such. Furthermore, participants who reported having experienced racial discrimination had a higher proportion of witnessing racial discrimination. The qualitative survey data on suggested measures to address racial discrimination in the workplace were examined through thematic analysis and rendered three overarching themes: Understanding racial discrimination; revising practices of recruitment, promotion, and appointment; and restructuring case management processes. Our results suggest that racial discrimination poses a significant issue within United Nations offices in Geneva and call for educational initiatives and significant structural changes. We recommend tailored research to inform these measures and highlight that committed leadership and the participation and vigilance of all involved in shaping the culture of the organization is needed to address racial discrimination in the workplace.
种族歧视对健康和福祉产生不利影响，并干扰组织的运作，包括联合国办事处，这些地方的系统研究有限。本文呈现并讨论了对 2020 年联合国日内瓦工作人员工会发布的“种族歧视调查”数据的二次分析。该调查产生了定量和定性数据，共有 1251 名工作人员、顾问和实习生完成了调查（回应率：14.7%）。对关键发现进行了描述性统计。超过三分之一（34.4%）的参与者报告曾亲身经历过种族歧视。大多数人以原籍国为依据（61.8%），表示这一经历影响了他们的职业发展机会（66.2%），并且没有采取任何行动作为回应（57.4%），主要是因为对组织的申诉机制缺乏信任。此外，超过三分之一（34.3%）的调查参与者目睹过同事受到种族歧视。为评估群体间差异而进行的卡方检验表明，与那些没有自认为属于种族、族裔和/或民族少数群体或群体的人相比，属于此类群体的人报告亲身经历和目睹种族歧视事件的比例更高。此外，报告曾经历过种族歧视的参与者目睹种族歧视的比例更高。通过主题分析对解决工作场所种族歧视的建议措施的定性调查数据进行了检查，得出了三个总体主题：理解种族歧视；修改招聘、晋升和任命的做法；以及重组案件管理流程。我们的研究结果表明，种族歧视在日内瓦的联合国办事处是一个重大问题，需要采取教育举措和重大结构变革。我们建议进行有针对性的研究来为这些措施提供信息，并强调需要有坚定的领导以及参与塑造组织文化的所有人员的警觉性，才能解决工作场所的种族歧视问题。
