One in ten government officials experience racism at work

One in ten civil servants at the central government had to deal with racism in the workplace in the past year, State Secretary Alexandra van Huffelen (Home Affairs) reported based on a survey. An approximately equally large group has experienced colleagues being racist towards citizens. Around 4,500 government officials were interviewed for the study.

Racism even occurred monthly for 1 percent of respondents. In addition, 17 percent experienced a colleague being treated with racism. Civil servants born outside Europe most often experience racism. People in lower pay scales encounter this more often than better-paid government officials.

State Secretary Van Huffelen spoke of a “confrontational study.” Every colleague who experiences racism is one too many, she said. “Work should be about what you do, not who you are and where you come from,” she said.

Van Huffelen initiated this investigation into the entire national government after it became apparent at the end of 2022 that racism in the workplace was common at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In total, approximately 140,000 civil servants work for the central government.