Purpose
This rapid evidence review summarises New Zealand and international evidence about the process of building social inclusion. The review aims to contribute to the evidence base needed to help make New Zealand more socially inclusive, and asks five main questions:
- What is social inclusion?
- Why is it important?
- What do we know about the extent of diversity and social inclusion in New Zealand?
- How can we build a more socially inclusive New Zealand?
- What do we need to understand better?
Methodology
A cross-agency working group and a broader reference group were used to support this review on social inclusion. Members of these groups provided existing and previous work that their agency held relevant to social inclusion. Non-systematic literature searches were undertaken by MSD’s and the Ministry of Health’s information and library services to source recent relevant literature and evidence for what works. Contact was also made with a small number of academics with expertise to seek their advice and input. The World Bank’s definition of social inclusion was adopted for the purposes of the review and this was supplemented by an MSD-developed framework on the key ways to help make New Zealand more socially inclusive. The rapid evidence review’s report is structured around answering five key questions
1. What is social inclusion?
2. Why is it important?
3. What do we know about the extent of diversity and social inclusion in New
Zealand?
4. How can we build a more socially inclusive New Zealand?
5. What do we need to understand better?
Draft versions of the rapid evidence review were circulated for review and feedback to the reference group, including some Chief Science Advisors and selected academics, and a selection of key community-based contacts. The rapid evidence review was completed in early June 2019.
Key Results
The review identifies evidence for six key ways to help make New Zealand more socially inclusive:
1.Fostering common values and inclusive social norms
- Social inclusion can be supported by building an inclusive national identity – one that values diverse groups’ heritage and culture; encourages all groups to positively interact with each other; and upholds shared, civic norms.
- Te Tiriti, and the principles of participation, protection and partnership, could provide a positive and distinctive foundation for building an inclusive Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Leaders, at all levels, play a crucial role in supporting an ongoing national conversation about building a socially inclusive New Zealand.
2.Encouraging and facilitating positive interactions between people.
- There is very strong evidence that encouraging and enabling diverse groups to positively interact with each other changes people’s attitudes for the better.
- The policy implications of this are wide-ranging, including the need to ensure schools, communities, workplaces, institutions and media representations better reflect New Zealand’s diversity, as well as facilitating and normalising positive interactions between diverse groups.
- Opportunities for diverse groups to interact are hampered by spatial segregation. There is some evidence of this in parts of New Zealand, especially in Auckland. Addressing this complex issue needs to consider a range of sometimes competing factors, including wider structural drivers like housing costs and structural discrimination
3.Tackling harms to inclusion, including, prejudice, discrimination and other harmful behaviours.
- There is clear evidence that many New Zealanders routinely experience prejudice and discrimination, which negatively affects people’s wellbeing and prevents people from participating.
- This discrimination takes a variety of forms and includes not just interpersonal but also structural discrimination and prejudice.
- Comprehensive, evidence-based strategies and ongoing monitoring are needed to prevent and limit these impacts,
especially in schools and workplaces where most prejudice and discrimination occurs.
4.Supporting people to have the knowledge and skills they need to participate
- Ensuring equitable access to education and training, that adapts to meet people’s diverse needs, is a critical long-term driver of social inclusion.
- An inclusive education system gives all New Zealanders the social and emotional skills needed to understand and
appreciate diverse perspectives. - An inclusive education system empowers people from diverse backgrounds to be able to participate socially and
economically.
5.Supporting people to have a voice and feel heard
- There is extensive evidence that giving people a voice, ensuring people feel heard, and treating people fairly contributes to people’s sense of trust, civic participation, and willingness to make compromises for the common good.
- Providing equitable access to these opportunities would help address the marked disparities in institutional trust experienced by marginalised groups in New Zealand.
6.Reducing inequality and improving opportunities for people by providing support and resources
- There is international evidence that poverty and income inequality are both associated with worse social inclusion outcomes. People’s perceptions of relative deprivation can also lead to more negative intergroup attitudes.
- Despite widespread perceptions of increasing poverty and inequality, there is little objective evidence of this in recent years within New Zealand.
- However, there is evidence of substantial income disparities and reduced social mobility for selected social and demographic groups.
- There are opportunities to address these disparities, including by providing more equitable access to employment, through the tax-transfer system, anti-discrimination legislation, and employment programs.