For many people, racism is imagined as a matter of one person saying or doing something hurtful to another. A slur in the street. A cruel joke told in the workplace. A neighbour’s sideways glare.

This view; known as interpersonal racism; frames racism as the behaviour of “bad” or ill-informed individuals. While these interactions do cause real harm, seeing racism only through this lens misses the far bigger picture and, in doing so, lets the deeper roots of the problem go unchallenged.

Interpersonal racism includes racial microaggressions.

Small but cutting behaviours that chip away at someone’s worth and belonging. These might be a colleague asking, “Where are you really from?”, a question that implies foreignness and exclusion, or giving someone an Anglicised nickname without their consent.

It can be jokes, insults, intimidation, or outright physical harm based on race. These moments are damaging, but they don’t occur in a vacuum. They grow out of, and are legitimised by, the wider systems in which we live.

That’s where systemic racism comes in. This form of racism is embedded in institutions, policies, and cultural norms, shaping who gets access to opportunity and who faces barriers at every turn. It’s the doctor who misdiagnoses or delays treatment for a First Nations patient because they lack cultural understanding.

It’s the racial profiling of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the justice system, contributing to disproportionate imprisonment rates. It’s the subtle but persistent overlooking of qualified employees from non-European backgrounds for senior positions, resulting in a lack of diversity in leadership. These aren’t isolated mistakes; they’re patterns woven into the structures we rely on every day.

The misconception that racism is only about individual acts is dangerous because it distorts our understanding of the problem. If racism is seen purely as a matter between people, then the “solution” becomes convincing individuals to be nicer or more polite. Ignoring the institutional practices that create unequal outcomes in the first place.

This narrow view limits our solutions, because it focuses on changing hearts rather than changing systems. And by centring attention on personal prejudice, it hides systemic responsibility, allowing schools, hospitals, governments and other institutions to avoid accountability for the inequities they perpetuate.

Challenging this misconception means lifting our gaze from the one-on-one interactions we can see to the structures that often remain invisible to those who don’t experience their harm.

It means improving racial literacy, learning how decision-makers in healthcare, education, housing and justice uphold or dismantle inequality. It means taking collective action, demanding that institutions both understand the impact of their policies and commit to reform.

It means recognising that systemic change doesn’t just happen “out there” in politics.

It can start in our workplaces, communities, and professional networks, wherever we have influence.

Racism between people matters, but it’s sustained by the conditions around it. Until we address both, we’ll keep treating the symptoms while ignoring the disease. Seeing the whole picture is the first step toward dismantling it.

You can find resources and learn more here.