Study shows 75 pct of Australians hold bias against Aboriginals

Around 75 percent of Australians hold an implicit bias against indigenous people which may lead to widespread racism, according to a study released Tuesday.

Most Australians tested for unconscious bias hold a negative view, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, occupation, religion, education level, geography or political leanings, said the findings from the study from the Australian National University (ANU).

The researchers analyzed data from the Implicit Association Test conducted by a joint initiative of universities including Harvard, Yale and the University of Sydney, covering 11,099 Australians over a 10-year period.

The findings, from the first survey of its kind for Australia, were published in the Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues.

"These results show there may be an implicit negative bias against Indigenous Australians across the board, which is likely the cause of the racism that many First Australians experience," said Siddharth Shirodkar, a researcher based in the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences and author of the study.

"This study presents stark evidence of the solid invisible barrier that Indigenous people face in society," Shirodkar added.