Superdiversity is here, so let's make it work for us

Photo / Jason Oxenham.

Ethnic diversity now affects every aspect of life in this country and we have to change how we act and think to ensure NZ remains socially and economically strong.

Ethnic superdiversity in New Zealand affects every area of life, business and policy; we see it in our families, our neighbourhoods, our schools, our workplaces, and our changing customer base and recruitment pool. Our kids marry international students studying here, or they marry while on their OE or working abroad, which increasingly includes Asian destinations, as there are 3.4 billion Asians just one 10-hour plane ride from Auckland.

Writing the Superdiversity Stocktake: Implications for Business, Government and New Zealand taught me that:

1. We don't have the luxury of time. New Zealand's superdiverse future is already here - especially in Auckland, but also in other cities and on farms throughout rural New Zealand.

2. A lot is being done to secure NZ's diversity dividend, but it is ad hoc and scattered across agencies and issues. We need a national conversation on adopting (and resourcing) a formal multicultural policy on a bicultural base to ensure we understand the implications of superdiversity, maximise its benefits, and manage its challenges to keep NZ socially and economically strong and racially harmonious.

3. Highly skilled and business investor and entrepreneur migrants, as well as tourists, represent a significant, untapped, high-value revenue stream for business. Studies show that an ethnically diverse workforce is essential for business competitiveness and greater profitability. Yet a Superdiversity Centre/EY survey of human resources managers found that few focused on issues other than gender diversity and employed few Maori, Asians or Pasifika staff.

4. A Xero Colmar Brunton survey undertaken for the Stocktake showed that small to medium-sized businesses discriminate against those who are visually diverse, believing they may not have local experience. It also showed that rather than taking "Kiwi jobs", many first-generation immigrants are taking the jobs left behind by New Zealanders, and that experienced migrants can be the worst perpetrators of abuse against newer migrants.

5. An Asia Capability survey could helpfully show government and business where greater capability needs to be built to more successfully engage with Asian trading partners and the growing Asian population here.

6. A Leadr/Aminz/New Zealand Law Society survey of mediators undertaken for the Stocktake found that increased dealings between ethnically diverse businesses can result in more communication breakdowns and that cultural and language differences may also shape parties' expectations and understandings of conflict.

7. A Niche Media/Office of Ethnic Communities survey found that 56-78 per cent of respondents from Chinese, Indian and Korean communities preferred to consume media in their own languages, even where those migrants have lived in NZ for a long time. Thus, business and government wanting to communicate with migrant communities need to use ethnic and mainstream media.

8. A survey of visually diverse migrants found a top concern is discrimination against them and their NZ-born children, especially in employment, suggesting more legal challenges for breaches under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and the Human Rights Act.

9. Business needs government to continue investing in settlement services, English language services, legal protections in the labour market and social cohesion initiatives promoting the benefits of migration, and training migrants in how to get jobs advising them how to invest in this country.

10. To maintain societal trust and racial harmony, we need public agencies capable of forming policies and services for all New Zealanders and to engage with and consult all New Zealanders, including migrants and ethnic groups.