WERO: Working to End Racial Oppression

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10289/17248

Racism is deeply embedded in social, economic, and political relations in Aotearoa New Zealand, to the extent that persistent manifestations of discrimination occur across multiple domains. While there are discipline-specific or population-specific studies of racism, the WERO research programme (https://wero.ac.nz/) represents a comprehensive research programme that investigates racism across multiple domains to identify pathways to eliminating it.

WERO assembles experts in Māori studies, Pacific studies, economics, epidemiology, human geography, sociology and psychology. The resources in this collection offer a multi-site and multi-dimensional approach to collate, extend and communicate knowledge on the costs of racism, examine systemic racism in employment, housing, institutions and communities, and explore and co-design responses for societal transformation.

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Paternalism and racism in pacific labour migration: A critical discourse analysis of the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme
(Journal Article, SAGE Publications, 2025-04-11) Roy, Rituparna; Collins, Francis L
Neoliberalism and ‘race’ have become fundamental in the operation of migration regimes internationally. This is particularly the case in circular labour mobility schemes that involve the seasonal movement of migrants from the Global South into labour markets in the Global North in deeply racialized ways that are underpinned by neoliberal market rule. This paper explores the institutionalisation of racism in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme in Aotearoa New Zealand (hereafter, New Zealand), a circular migration programme that has been promoted as a ‘best practice’ ‘global model.’ Using discourse analysis, we identify a strong emphasis on paternalism, managerialism, and racialisation, which shape the character of Pacific-focused labour programmes. Paternalism is expressed in the positioning of New Zealand as leading Pacific countries’ development and governance, and an emphasis on ‘co-development’ underpinned by claims of mutual beneficence. The RSE scheme is then managed through discourses and operational mechanisms that are informed by technocratic managerialism, rendering Pacific migrants able to be controlled through restricted rights and an emphasis on the maintenance of permanent circulation. Lastly, paternalism and managerialism take shape around the racialisation and stratification of RSE migrant labour as ideal workers for seasonal manual labour characterised by low wages, conditions and rights. This critical analysis reveals the deeply embedded coloniality of circular labour mobility schemes like the RSE and suggests the importance of wholesale transformation rather than a refinement of an unjust system.
Māori medical student and physician exposure to racism, discrimination, harassment, and bullying
(Journal Article, The American Medical Association, 0202-07-01) Cormack, Donna; Gooder, Claire; Jones, Rhiannon; Lacey, Cameron; Stanley, James; Paine, Sarah-Jane; Curtis, Elana; Harris, Ricci
IMPORTANCE: Discrimination, bullying, and harassment in medicine have been reported internationally, but exposures for Indigenous medical students and physicians, and for racism specifically, remain less examined. OBJECTIVE: To examine the prevalence of racism, discrimination, bullying, and harassment for Māori medical students and physicians in New Zealand and associations with demographic and clinical characteristics. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study used data from an anonymous national survey of Māori medical students and physicians in New Zealand in late 2021 and early 2022. Data were analyzed from March 2022 to April 2024. EXPOSURES: Age, gender, marginalized status (ie, in addition to being Māori, belonging to other groups traditionally marginalized or underrepresented in medicine), year of medical school, year of graduation, and main work role. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Direct and witnessed racism, discrimination, bullying, and harassment were measured as any experience in the last year and ever. Any exposure to negative comments about social groups and witnessing discriminatory treatment toward Māori patients or whānau (extended family). Considering leaving medicine, including because of mistreatment, was measured. RESULTS: Overall, 205 Māori medical students (median [IQR] age, 23.1 [21.6-24.3] years; 137 [67.2%] women) and 200 physicians (median [IQR] age, 36.6 [30.1-45.3] years; 123 [62.8%] women) responded. Direct and witnessed exposure to racism (184 students [91.5%]; 176 physicians [90.7%]) and discrimination (176 students [85.9%]; 179 physicians [89.5%]) ever in medical education, training, or work environments was common. Ever exposure to witnessed and direct bullying (123 students [66.5%]; 150 physicians [89.3%]) and harassment (73 students [39.5%]; 112 physicians [66.7%]) was also common. Most respondents reported witnessing Māori patients or their whānau being treated badly in clinical settings, in direct interactions (67 students [57.8%]; 112 physicians [58.9%]) or behind their backs (87 students [75.0%]; 138 physicians [72.6%]). One-quarter of Māori medical students (45 students), and 37.0%of physicians (61 physicians) had considered leaving or taken a break from medicine because of these experiences. Additional marginalized statuses were significantly associated with any direct experience of mistreatment in the last year for students and physicians. Exposure to some forms of mistreatment were also significantly associated with higher likelihood of thinking about leaving or taking a break from medicine for physicians. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this study, Māori medical students and physicians reported high exposure to multiple forms of racism, discrimination, bullying, and harassment in medical education, training, and work environments, requiring an urgent response from medical institutions.
Temporary migration and wage inequality: The effects of skills, nationality and migration status in Aotearoa New Zealand
(Journal Article, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2024) Islam, Ahmed Zohirul; Collins, Francis L.; Alimi, Omoniyi Babatunde
This study focuses on the labour market dimensions of temporary migration by quantitatively exploring the relationship between temporary migration and wage inequality. Over recent decades, there has been a growing emphasis on migration management in shaping migration policies across the world, especially in the Anglophone settler societies. At the same time, temporary migration policies have been criticized for contributing to the creation of inequalities. This study investigates wage inequality among temporary migrants between 2010 and 2019 in Aotearoa New Zealand, a period when the number of people holding temporary visas more than doubled. Despite the increase in this population of temporary migrants, our analysis of administrative data has shown that the overall level of wage inequality of temporary migrants holding work visas declined between 2010 and 2019. The study uses the Shapley-value decomposition approach to quantify the contributions of skills, nationality and migration status on wage inequality, factors that are associated with the migration system and the composition of migrants. Results suggest that skills and nationality were the key factors that have led to decrease wage inequality over the period. In contrast, migration status has a small countervailing effect on the decreases in wage inequality. Our analysis concludes that wage inequality is shaped by two factors in the case of temporary migration. The first is the migration system itself which sets different conditions for migrants in terms of skills and migration status, and the second is the composition of the migrant population.
International migration and income inequality in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2013–2018
(Journal Article, Population Association of New Zealand, 2024-04-25) Islam, Ahmed Zohirul; Alimi, Omoniyi Babatunde; Collins, Francis L.
Income inequality and international migration are often interrelated and have both become key concerns in Aotearoa New Zealand over recent decades. The present study aimed to examine the effects of immigration on income inequality in Aotearoa New Zealand by decomposing the within-group and between-group contributions to the level of inequality and to the change in income inequality between 2013 and 2018. Drawing on census and administrative income data, we explored two routes (composition effect and group-specific income-distribution effect) through which international migration influences the aggregate income distribution. Mean log deviation (MLD) decomposition technique was used to decompose the within-group inequality and between-group inequality, and the population subgroup decomposition of Mookherjee and Shorrocks’s (1982) approach was used to decompose the change in inequality over the 2013–2018 period. The results show that income inequality was higher among immigrants than among New Zealand-born, and recent immigrants have relatively lower incomes which improve over time. Between 2013 and 2018, increases in the share of the high-skilled immigrant groups had inequality-increasing contributions. The decrease in the population share of low-skilled recent immigrants contributed to decreasing overall income inequality as did the effect of change in group-specific income distribution of low-skilled earlier immigrants. These results highlight the need for more focus on the role of migrant composition in terms of gender, nationality, occupation and migrant status in order to gain greater insight into the relationship between immigration and inequality.
Ko wai tēnei e tū ake nei? Activating collectivity and accountability through grounded positioning
(Journal Article, 2021-12) Rata, Arama; Fu, Mengzhu; Mio, Jess; Case, Emalani
Building on conference conversations about positionality—about who we are and how our identities shape our views of the world, about the connections and disconnections experienced between us, and about our proximities to place, power, and privilege—this piece brings together four conference participants to continue to reflect on what positionality means, on why it is important, and on how to practice it in non-performative, well-developed, and mutually nourishing ways. Their dialogue reflects active and critical positioning in process and practice, creating opportunities for acknowledging our relationships and activating both collectivity and accountability in the various spaces where we live, work, create, and hope.
Policy solutions to social housing stigmatisation in Aotearoa
(Report, University of Waikato, 2025-02) Southey, Kim; Terruhn, Jessica
This policy brief discusses social housing stigmatisation as a process and experience that has detrimental effects on social housing tenants. The brief also highlights the role social housing policy must play in addressing stigmatisation, thereby, ensuring the wellbeing and community inclusion of social housing residents. The discussion and recommendations in this brief are based on a review of evidence for the WERO (Working to End Racial Oppression) research project, examining how neighbours’ perceptions as well as policies and practices of social housing provision impact social housing tenants’ experiences of wellbeing and neighbourhood inclusion.
“Landlords wouldn’t give my application a second look.” Discrimination exacerbates inequalities in access to private rental housing
(Report, University of Waikato, 2024-08) Terruhn, Jessica; Collins, Francis L.
This report and the key insights are based on findings from a housing survey that was conducted with 800 residents in neighbourhoods in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch. • Perceptions of unfairness in Aotearoa’s housing sector are widespread. Renters, Māori, younger people and low-income groups as well as residents in neighbourhoods with high levels of housing deprivation are most likely to think that people are treated unfairly when trying to rent or buy a home in Aotearoa. • Nearly one in three respondents reported having experienced discrimination when trying to rent or buy a home in Aotearoa. Renters, Māori, younger people and low-income groups as well as residents in neighbourhoods with high levels of housing deprivation are most likely to report experiences of discrimination. • Advantage and disadvantage in securing a home are determined by a combination of interlocking factors, including income and employment status, age, family status, and race/ethnicity or skin colour. These patterns suggest widespread experiences of potentially unlawful housing discrimination. • People strategically try to avoid and mitigate discrimination. Expectations of being discriminated against and of being advantaged influence where and how home seekers search for housing. This finding signals that experiences of rejection play a role in constraining people’s housing choices. • The survey findings suggest that discrimination, as part of tenant selection, contributes to housing precarity and inequalities in access to rental housing. Therefore, this research points to an urgent need to address housing discrimination, especially in the context of high levels of residential mobility among renters and intense competition for rental properties.
Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi through addressing racism in universities
(Report, University of Waikato, 2024-06-30) Waitoki, Waikaremoana; Tan, Kyle K. H.; Hamley, Logan
Executive summary The WERO team conducted two studies on university documents to identify how universities articulate their commitments to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and address inequities for Māori within tertiary education. The first study, which is a case study of a university’s Treaty Statement, highlighted the university’s limitations in empowering Māori to exercise tino rangatiratanga within various decision-making structures. The second study, which scrutinises Māori representation across strategic documents of all universities, revealed that universities reify whiteness by selectively interpreting Te Tiriti articles, pursuing targeted Māori recruitment, portraying Māori as reliant on the Crown for success, commodifying mātauranga Māori, and evading discussions about settler colonialism and racial equity. Drawing from our findings and constitutional transformation documents such as Matike Mai (2016), we proffer three recommendations to enable universities to more effectively uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi: 1. Universities must clearly define the operation of settler colonialism and racism in each institution so that sustainable anti-racist initiatives can be identified. 2. Each university must grow relational spheres where Māori are empowered to make collective decisions with the Crown representatives in the university. 3. Universities must invest in a Māori-led independent body to develop and deliver a Te Tiriti-centric programme that decolonises university processes
WERO: A pānui for tauira Māori in psychology
(Book, Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao, University of Waikato, 2024-06-03) Waitoki, Waikaremoana; Tan, Kyle K. H.; Hamley, Logan; Chan, Joanna; Jones, Susana; Townsend, Tiari; Wairoa-Harrison, Sophia; White, Te Aorere
The first WERO pānui was edited in 1991 by the first Māori in psychology at Waikato University, Stephanie Palmer and Linda Waimarie Nikora. This pānui is the third in the WERO series, aiming to continue the legacy of the first publication in 1991 (edited by Stephanie Palmer) and the second in 1992 (edited by Hikitapua). The pānui continues to center diverse Māori perspectives with relevance for those affected by racial oppression in psychology.
Beyond Pākehā paralysis: Exploring the journeys & experiences of Pākehā allyship in psychology
(Journal Article, New Zealand Psychological Society Inc., 2025) Stolte, Ottilie Emma Elisabeth; Tan, Kyle K. H.; Scarf, Damian; Black, Rose
The monocultural foundation of psychology is interwoven with the colonial history of Aotearoa New Zealand. Not all of the mahi of decolonising psychology is the responsibility of Māori. In Aotearoa, there is currently less literature around the development of racial justice allyship and how Pākehā (as the dominant majority) can work towards honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi. This paper draws on interviews with three Pākehā allies who have taken actions towards greater inclusion of Māori and raising awareness of systemic injustices and racial disparities. The objective of this paper is to document the understandings shared by these ‘reluctant allies’, focusing on the challenges, possibilities, and suggestions for a more culturally relevant psychological education and practice for Aotearoa New Zealand.
Racism and bullying as correlates for considering ending psychology training in Aotearoa New Zealand
(Journal Article, New Zealand Psychological Society Inc., 2025) Tan, Kyle K. H.; Waitoki, Waikaremoana; Scarf, Damian
Despite global calls to enhance culturally safe care for Indigenous and minoritised groups, little attention has been given to exploring students’ experiences in psychology training programmes to meet these needs. A series of chi-square tests was performed to examine group differences for participants in the Kia Whakapapa Pounaumu survey (n = 107) in their consideration of ending their training and their decision to seek professional help. Over half (55%) of students reported having considered ending their psychology training. Our findings show that students who have experienced or witnessed forms of injustice such as institutional racism, microaggressions, and bullying, encounter additional barriers in completing their training. If psychology bodies wish to redress the harm caused to Indigenous and minoritised groups in the discipline of psychology, they must ensure the training programmes themselves do not perpetuate harm.
Gendered Extremism in the Pacific on 4chan: A Mixed-methods Exploration of Australian and New Zealanders’ Concepts of Women, Gender, and Sexual Violence on /Pol/
(Journal Article, Informa UK Limited, 2024-08-09) Phillips, Justin Bonest; Ingram, Kiriloi M.; Campion, Kristy
The association between 4chan and online extremist subcultures has seen increasing academic scrutiny—particularly following the 2019 Christchurch attack by a right-wing terrorist who frequented the anonymous forums. Gender-based extremism features as one (of many) critical subcultures that commands our academic attention, though few studies to date have sought to capture and assess the entire landscape of this phenomenon on 4chan’s most notorious board: /pol/. Drawing on a pre-Christchurch attack dataset extracted from Papasavva et al. (2020), this study investigates how Australians and New Zealanders (ANZ) broadly conceptualize—and debate—women, gender, and sexual violence on 4chan’s /pol/ board. We apply a mixed-methods approach, combining automated machine learning tools alongside expert qualitative analysis. Across nearly 300,000 posts and comments, we show how gender is constructed within this community, and the conjugal order they demand as a result. This order racially and sexually defines gender identities and norms, which are perceived as mechanisms to restore power and dominance to an ethnically and ideologically conforming in-group. Those that violate or disrupt the conjugal order are legitimized as targets of sexual, and gender-based violence. This normalizes far/extreme right gendered constructs across ANZ contexts in support of exclusivist far/extreme right ideological positions.
In defence of mātauranga Māori: A response to the 'seven academics'
(Journal Article, New Zealand Medical Association, 2022-04-01) Waitoki, Waikaremoana
On 28 July 2021, a group of academics from the University of Auckland published a letter in the Listener, a well-known, non-academic magazine. The letter writers expressed their moral outrage that the Government’s NCEA curriculum working group proposed that science would be taught to Māori students along with its colonising history.
Indigenous people in Aotearoa New Zealand are overrepresented in cannabis convictions
(Journal Article, BioMed Central, 2022) Rapana, Wetini; Winter, Taylor; Fox, Ririwai; Riordan, Benjamin; Waitoki, Waikaremoana; Scarf, Damian
Background: Previous work has demonstrated that cannabis laws have had a disproportionate impact on Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. In 2019, the New Zealand Government amended cannabis laws, providing police with the power to determine whether a therapeutic or health-centred approach would be more beneficial than a conviction. In the current study, we use population level data to assess whether this law change has ameliorated the bias in cannabis convictions for Māori. Methods: Data were drawn from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), a large government database hosted by Aotearoa New Zealand’s national statistics office. In the IDI, we selected individuals who (1) were between 18 and 65, (2) were Māori or Pākehā (New Zealanders of European descent) and, (3) had any cannabis charges that proceeded to the courts. Results: Māori ethnicity was a significant predictor of the odds of receiving a cannabis conviction for Māori males (Odds: 1.56), with a marginally significant effect for Māori females (Odds: 1.57). Further, for Māori, there was no reduction in the number of cannabis charges before vs. after the amendment to cannabis laws. Conclusion: The current study demonstrates that the bias in cannabis convictions for Māori remain. Given this, the New Zealand Government must follow other countries around the world and move forward on cannabis law reform.
Covering tangata whenua in Aotearoa: a big data exploration of print media and Māori
(Journal Article, Informa UK Limited, 2022-09-18) Phillips, Justin Bonest
A large body of academic research documents harmful media coverage of indigenous populations across the globe. New Zealand is no exception. Aotearoa’s indigenous people, Māori, share similar damaging experiences, leading one major NZ media company to publish an apology for their historically poor depiction of tangata whenua. This paper adds to that wealth of evidence using the automated methods of machine learning to examine coverage of Māori in NZ print media. Across roughly 800,000 sentences–spanning over two decades of coverage–this research investigates print media discourses involving Māori at a mass scale while demonstrating the applicability of such tools for further research. The results replicate a collection of existing findings at large-N scale, further documenting problematic discussions of violence, political representation, and culture, among several other concerns. The novel approach also hints at complex, obscure relationships embedded within problematic language in Aotearoa’s print media, identifying notions of division - both implied and otherwise - along with notable instances of resistance.
How far are we with Indigenising psychology training curriculum in Aotearoa New Zealand?
(Journal Article, New Zealand Medical Association, 2023-06-16) Waitoki, Waikaremoana; Tan, Kyle K. H.; Hamley, Logan; Scarf, Damian; Stolte, Ottilie Emma Elisabeth; Chan, Joanna
The “standard story” of anti-Māori talk in Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill submissions
(Journal Article, New Zealand Medical Association, 2023-07-21) Black, Rose; Rae, Ngaire; Tan, Kyle K. H.; Waitoki, Waikaremoana; Waipuka-Bain, Leah
AIM: To review some common patterns of race talk in a sample of submissions made to the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill. This bill proposed a structural reform of the health system in Aotearoa New Zealand to address long-standing health inequities experienced by Māori, the Indigenous peoples, and other priority populations. METHOD: In a sample of 3,000 individual submissions made in late 2021, we found 2,536 explicit references to race. Utilising the “stan-dard story” frame of Pākehā/non-Maori race talk, five longer submissions that inferred that the Pae Ora bill was “racist” were analysed in detail. RESULTS: Many “standard story” race discourses were identified in the Pae Ora submissions. Three derived discourses included in this paper are: Pākehā as norm (monoculturalism or not seeing Pākehā as a culture), equality and the “Treaty” (equality for all to access healthcare), and one people (we are all New Zealanders). Sources such as the Waitangi Tribunal Wai 2575 Hauora report were drawn on to provide alternative discourses. CONCLUSION: Identifying Pākehā standard story discourses enables learning about language patterns systems draw on, and the development of tools and procedures to improve equity for Māori and eliminate institutional racism.
“Pushing an irritational button”: Asian psychologists making sense of racialization in psychology training in Aotearoa/New Zealand
(Journal Article, Asian American Psychological Association, 2025) Tan, Kyle K. H. ; Tan, Valerie Tze Yeen
The monocultural psychology training in Aotearoa New Zealand deliberately centers White racial framing which enables those who benefit from Whiteness to uphold an imposed hierarchy of racially inferior (Māori) and superior (Pākehā) groups. In Aotearoa, we are faced with a reality that Asian (as a diverse group from East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia) knowledge sources and the intake of Asian students into psychology training are scarcely prioritized. In this study, we utilized counter-storytelling as a critical race praxis to illuminate the various forms of Asianization (Asian racialization) as a subframe of White racial framing. Employing interpretative phenomenological analysis, we explored the subjective experiences of four Asian psychologists as they made sense of racism and the formation of their racialized identity within psychology training. Our analysis uncovered three main themes with subordinate themes: (1) the White mold of psychology (encountering White ideals of psychology and pursuing perceived benefits of Whiteness); (2) bearing the brunt of Asianization (ranging from being achievers yet forgotten to being perceived as a threat and unassimilable); and (3) relating to Māori (expressing identity validation and empathy yet experiencing lateral violence). We observed the manifestation of White racial framing across various cognitive (e.g., the prioritization of western knowledge and the promotion of colorblind norms), emotional (e.g., White fragility), and behavioral aspects (e.g., expectations placed on minoritized ethnic groups to assimilate), all of which contribute to Asianization archetypes (viz., the forgotten Asian, the irritational button, and the unassimilable foreigner).
Kasaysayan at mga salaysay: A bibliography of research with Asian communities in Aotearoa (2000-2024)
(Report, WERO and University of Waikato, 2025-02-07) Aquino, Paolo; Tan, Kyle K. H.; Dam, Lincoln
In 2022, the Director of Asian Family Services commented, “Again, nothing about us”, after failing to lobby for the consideration of Asian needs in health structure reform. This exclusionary sentiment is not confined to the health sector but is also prevalent in public sectors and academia in Aotearoa New Zealand. The number of Asians employed as academic staff in tertiary education sectors falls behind the Asian general population estimates. The lack of equity-based funding for Asians is also evident in research sectors. The specific challenges that Asian researchers face in academia are rarely identified, discussed, or addressed through university policies that supposedly endorse diversity, equality, and inclusion. Try flipping through a university strategic document, and you will not be surprised to see no mention of “Asians”. Asians are caught in an awkward situation where they are occasionally showcased to fulfill the “diversity” quota but are otherwise largely invisible. The bibliography is a wero (challenge) to the invisibility of Asians in research. It is a collection of pivotal contributions made by researchers advancing knowledge for Asian communities. This body of evidence demonstrated our resistance to model minority expectations and assimilationist pressures by continuing to draw on Asian philosophies and epistemologies, engaging with Asian communities, and writing about the subjective experiences of “Asians” as we defy being generalised under the “one New Zealand” narrative. It also constitutes a response to the call for compiling existing Asian research into a bibliography (Tasker & D’Silva, forthcoming), which will serve as an academic reference for researchers and others to identify research gaps.
Systemic racism and oppression in psychology: Voices from psychologists, academic staff, and students
(Report, WERO and the University of Waikato, 2024) Waitoki, Waikaremoana; Tan, Kyle K. H.; Hamley, Logan; Stolte, Ottilie Emma Elisabeth; Chan, Joanna; Scarf, Damian
Psychology must reassess its training approach, as the current monocultural paradigm not only causes harm, but also fails to equip psychologists with the knowledge needed to provide culturally appropriate care for Māori, Pacific, Asian, and other minoritised groups. Findings from this report contribute to the growing evidence of the urgent need to address barriers preventing Māori, Pacific, Asian, and other minoritised groups from participating effectively in professional psychology programmes. This report calls for action for everyone in psychology to embrace the changes needed to improve the cultural safety of the discipline and hold ourselves accountable for supporting the development of Te Tiriti-aligned psychology.

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