Is Britain fairer?

Debbie Weekes-BernardHead of Research

Response by the Runnymede Trust

Is Britain fairer?

• Report can help to change the narrative on race equality through provision of evidence, collated in one place

• Key points on race to raise include:

• Education• Employment• Poverty

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EHRC - Education

EHRC report notes attainment gaps for some groups across the three countries have been closing but importantly raises the following:

•BME students, specifically black young people, are less likely to gain access to research intensive universities, particularly those within the Russell group•Numbers of exclusion from school, particularly for those from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups, mixed White & Black Caribbean groups and Black Caribbean groups remain stubbornly high•Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children consistently achieve the lowest levels in England

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Broader narrative on race equality in education

Social mobility

•Poor social mobility remains an ongoing reality for many minority ethnic groups, which suggests that education is not enough

•While Indian and Chinese students outperform all counterparts Chinese male graduates, together with graduates of Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage, are more likely to be unemployed

•Increasing the social and cultural capital for BME and migrant children and young people is hugely important

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EHRC - employment

• Decline in average rates of pay for some BME groups

• The period examined has seen hourly pay reduction for Black individuals (by £1.20 p/h) and Sikh individuals (by £1.90 p/h)

• Muslim unemployment highest out of all religious groups and unemployment across ALL BME groups higher than for White groups

• Twice as likely to be unemployed if from a BME group with lowest employment rate for Pakistani/Bangladeshi people (48.2% in 2013)

• Under representation of specific groups (ie African/Caribbean/Black and Mixed) in senior positions

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Wider race equality considerations on employment

• Pipeline issue – how prior attainment, training and networks impact on employment rates for some minority ethnic groups

• Cannot explore un- or under-employment without looking at the wider issue of routes taken (ie teaching)

• Take up of apprenticeships low among BME young people – 9.5% of apprenticeships taken up by BME groups. They make up 20% of the population

• Plans to expand the number of apprenticeships without addressing BME under-representation will not guarantee increased BME take-up and address inequality of access

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Poverty

• Poverty rates high among families headed by BME adults

• For children living in households headed by a BME adult, poverty rates were 41/9% compared to 24.5% for children in households headed by a White adult

• Poverty rates highest for children and young people Pakistani/Bangladeshi, Black or Other households

• While numbers living in substandard accommodation have fallen in England, they remain high for those from Black (27.9% of households) and Pakistani/Bangladeshi (26.3%) backgrounds compared to White (20.5%)

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Wider race equality consideration on poverty

• The numbers of minority ethnic groups living in many indicators of poverty (ie on low wages, substandard accommodation etc) are high broadly so cuts to welfare support will for example affect them disproportionately

• EHRC notes that between 2007 and 2013 rate of young people living in poverty increased – most minority ethnic groups have younger profile so greater likelihood of poverty

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White 42 years

Mixed White/African 16 years

Mixed overall 18 years

Black Other 23 years

Bangladeshi 24 years

Pakistani 25 years

Arab 27 years

Black African 28 years

Chinese 28 years

Wider race equality considerations on poverty

• Half of all overcrowded households are BME

• Greater numbers of BME individuals earn below the national minimum wage – 40% of Pakistani men and 60% of Bangladeshi men compared to 15% of White British men

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Conclusions: Is Britain Fairer?

• Most important questions remain – Is Britain fairer? Evidence suggests not

• Why is Britain not fairer?

• Lack of implementation of existing law, including public sector equality duty

• Failure of political leadership to address racial inequality and relative lack of public pressure on politicians and policymakers

• We welcome the collection and collating of this data by the EHRC but they also have a role in enforcement in order that the Government and other institutions can be held to account for the way that decision making creates and exacerbates racial inequalities.

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