‘ Race ’ , Difference, and the Inclusive Society

‘Race’, Difference, and the Inclusive Society Teresa Staniewicz Office: R3.09 Email: T.Staniewicz@Warwick.ac.uk Office Hours in Term 1 Wednesdays 11.15am-12.15pm Thursdays 12.15pm-1.30pm Please email me before so that we can arrange a suitable (free) timeslot! Thank you! Centre for Rights, Equality and Diversity

EDUCATION & THE LABOUR MARKET It is absolutely clear that education is pivotal in the quest for a more inclusive society. Education provides a foundation for entry into the labour force and therefore in to society Without a more ‘level playing field’, material inequalities cannot decrease, and without a greater sense of common purpose and citizenship values, racism and xenophobia will continue to infect the body politic. Today, we look at where BME groups (actually) find themselves, in the Labour Market…

The Labour Market: background issues (1) The labour market experiences of post-war migrants, was far from representing as a ‘lumpen proletariat’ in a universal sense (as so many sociological accounts wrongly suggest), many arrivals (espfrom the Indian subcontinent and later East Africa), were highly qualified professional or skilled people. Even in 1971 the level of professionals amongst Indian-born men was higher than amongst the White population. But, they didn’t always get the jobs their qualifications justified, and many of those who were channeled into semi-skilled and unskilled work were in declining industries.

The Labour Market: background issues (2) As with housing, the employment picture is extremely complex. There are massive variations in experience both between and within groups. Within group differences are onthe basis of age and gender, and also class background. The problem with the latter in analytical terms, of course, is that it is strictly a function of other factors which are also subject to exclusionary processes (education, family background, housing market location, etc.). Broadly speaking the picture is as follows:

The Labour Market: background issues (3) • Those of Indian and East African Asian origin, along with the Chinese, tend to do best in employment terms. The Chinese are especially concentrated in the catering sector. • The other South Asian groups do far less well, with the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities suffering from extremely high levels of poverty and deprivation (e.g. in Bradford, Oldham, Burnley, etc.) • In the African Caribbean population, women tend to perform higher status jobs than their male counterparts. Latter, being concentrated in manual occupations, and low grade supervisory posts.

The Labour Market: background issues (3i)

The Labour Market: background issues (4) Unemployment rates amongst the 1st generation were high.This has been explained by economic restructuring, but some have said it’s due to the disregarding of overseas qualifications, and the ignorance of effective job search strategies. Discrimination looms large as an explanatory factor. To those who attempt to deploy the ‘overseas qualifications arguments, we simply have to note the experiences of the second generation. For those either born in the UK or coming here as young children these cannot hold. They were educated here, socialised here, and trained in job search strategy by local careers services. [This is not to say, of course, that they benefited in the ways they should have from these experiences.]

Unemployment – A Literal Exclusion (i) The facts show that: Unemployment amongst minority communities, taken as a whole, is running at around twice the national average for men, and around two and a half times the average for women. One might have expected that the figures would be different for the 16-24 age group. They are not - if anything they are worse for some groups [check, qualify/add this latter point, for written work] Here are some recent figures: • A report by the Institute of Public Policy Research [2010]: Almost half of black people aged 16-24 were unemployed, compared with 20% of white people of the same age [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8468308.stm] • See: Work and Ethnicity [http://www.poverty.org.uk/47/index.shtml] • Key Point: One in 7 adults aged 25 to retirement from ethnic minorities, are not working but want to, lower than a decade ago but still much higher than that for White people. [See graph, next slide] • c) Improving employment outcomes for ethnic minorities • [http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/search/system-search.do?k=Improving+employment+outcomes+for+ethnic+minorities&x=20&y=7] • d) The impact of student and migrant employment on opportunities for low skilled people • http://www.ukces.org.uk/publications/er32-impact-student-and-migrant

TOP Graph 1: Over time

Unemployment – A Literal Exclusion (ii) Why are the figures so high, then? • We have seen that education is a factor. The failure of the career’s service and associated government initiatives is another. • Governments have often massaged the unemployment figures by excluding those on ‘schemes’ (such as New Deal), much trumpeted, but the effectiveness as a way of increasing the employment (economic inclusion) of minority youth, remains highly debatable. Patrick Boateng’s study demonstrates conclusively that minority applicants are consistently placed on those schemes which don’t, and by their nature can’t, lead to permanent work opportunities

Unemployment – A Literal Exclusion (iii) Labour Market Niches – counter-balancing unemployment As Mason suggests, one of the alternatives to labour market ‘exclusion’ was self-employment. Even the case of South East Asians (e.g. the Chinese), the propensity (say) to enter the catering trade is not normally the transference of traditional skills. It was, and is, simply the filling of an economic niche (this is the Chinese ‘corner shop’). As we saw in the case of housing, the growth of the Asian housing sector is largely the exploitation of a niche, in this case, a niche created by the exclusionary practices of mainstream organisations. The ‘ethnic economy’ does fulfill an important role. In many ways it’s crucial to the inclusive society, in creating additional competition for exclusionary organisations and at the same time catering for needs and aspirations which are not satisfied elsewhere.

Unemployment – A Literal Exclusion (iv) Cont/. Examples The problem with this sector of the economy is that it often exists at the margins: not so much socially as financially. Businesses are typically undercapitalised (inevitably in cases where it’s an alternative to unemployment and continued poverty). Because of discriminatory behaviour in the financial sector, they have often experienced difficulties in raising the capital they need to thrive. The businesses therefore often lack sustainability and development potential. Because of the difficulties in raising finance, and lack of knowledge to undertake other kinds of work, many resort to businesses with minimum set-up costs. Obvious examples: Taxi-drivers; home-based estate agencies; & travel agencies.

Exclusion I: Language, Skills Deficit, mode of Job Search David Mason suggests that minorities have been blamed for their own lack of success in the LM, citing three reasons: • Language: Often, the standard of an applicant’s English was a key factor. Even though over time, this has become less of an issue (2nd, 3rd gen educated here); analyses controlling for this factor still reveal differential treatment. • Skills and Qualifications Deficit. This is directly related to educational achievement. Overseas qualifications have often been undervalued. • Job Search Strategies. Often been argued that BMEs don’t deploy effective search strategies. The avoidance of job centres and career services in favour of more informal methods, such as ‘word of mouth’ are seen as problematic – evidence of ‘steering’ here too.

Exclusion 2: Direct and Indirect Discrimination (i) In the same way that estate agencies have been found to use ‘racial steering’ often allegedly to conform to clients’ wishes, employment agencies have been seen to filter applications to those who meet the (unwritten) criteria set by employers. Karn reports evidence of direct discrimination against Irish clients, and more recently a case came to light of management directives to recruitment personnel in a large agency (following 11 September), to interview Asians in the usual way but then to ‘lose’/destroy their application forms. On other occasions, employment agencies and careers services have stereotyped minorities. In other words, they have decided that they ‘know’ what sort of work ‘they’ are good at.

Exclusion 2: Direct and Indirect Discrimination (ii) Anti-discrimination legislation has undoubtedly had an impact on policies and practices of employers.Hopefully, the widespread discrimination revealed by the CRE’s (now EHRC) 1980s investigation of entry to the accountancy profession is now a thing of the past. But the majority of complaints to this body still involve allegations of employment discrimination (keep an eye out for those reported in the national media). [Equality Act 2010] So, discrimination can be direct - treating two people differently on the basis of their ‘race’ or ethnicity. But it can also be indirect – certain removal conditions imposed. Mason cites dress codes – Sikhs’ turbans; Muslim women and veils

Education, Employment and the Inclusive Society • Increasing labour market participation obviously reduces overall material inequality. But the mode of inclusion is important. • It is not sufficient simply to maximise job totals: we need to provide a education which stresses the integrative values of citizenship, & provide a more level playing field, ensuring a transition to further/higher education or work which meets the needs and aspirations of the individuals concerned, irrespective of ‘race’, ethnicity, gender, etc. • An unequal education system combined with discriminatory practices in LM institutions / employers leads to differential outcomes. For those who do acquire higher status jobs there is worrying evidence of discrimination in the workplace, then there is the ‘glass ceiling’….

Employment & the Inclusive Society: Equality Act 2010 • http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/8030030/Equality-Act-Six-things-employers-need-to-know.html • Racial Discrimination – Employment • http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ResolvingWorkplaceDisputes/DiscriminationAtWork/DG_10026667 • http://equalityhumanrights.com/legal-and-policy/equality-act/equality-act-codes-of-practice/ • http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/uploaded_files/EqualityAct/employment_code_05.10.10.pdf

‘ Race ’ , Difference, and the Inclusive Society