‘The other woman’ and the question of equal opportunity in Australian organizations

The present equal opportunity discourse in Australia, with its focus on ‘the mainstream woman’, i.e. the white Anglo-Celtic woman, overlooks the multiracial feminist perspectives of ‘the other woman’, the minority ethnic woman. As a result of the intersection of her sexual, ethnic and/or religious identities, ‘the other woman’ remains dually disadvantaged within Australian society and organizations; largely deprived of the opportunities available to her ‘mainstream’ sister. This paper discusses the complexity of intersections and of how the interaction of systems of stratification constructs specific social locations for minority ethnic women in Australian organizations. The paper draws on critical race and feminist theories with respect to intersectionality of race and gender, and offers quantitative and qualitative data to exemplify issues that surround representation and (in)equality within Australian organizations. The data include an empirical analysis of complaints filed under the federal legislation over a five-year period to determine how minority ethnic women's workplace experiences differ from those of their mainstream counterparts. The analysis reflects the ongoing nature of multiple discriminations faced by minority ethnic women.