Business
in
the
Community
ASPIRATION AND
FRUSTRATION
Ethnic minority hope and reality inside
Britain’s premier careers
Click image to start
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
NOT FOR THE LIKES OF US
FAMILY INFLUENCE
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCRETE CEILING OR OPEN DOOR?
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
INSTITUTIONAL RACISM LIVES ON?
SUMMARY
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FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
Foreword
It is a sad fact of modern day Britain that the workplace is not as ethnically
diverse as the society in which we live. The legal barriers to equal opportunity
have been swept away but something is still preventing some Black, Asian
and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people from moving into the industries that offer
the best prospects for career and earnings potential in Britain’s 21st century
services economy.
Business in the Community’s Race for Opportunity (RfO) campaign is committed to speeding up
the progress of ethnic minority people in the workplace. To establish the scale of the challenge,
we commissioned groundbreaking research to find out exactly how BAME groups viewed their
prospects of employment and promotion within some selected industries and professions and
to find out about the working conditions they encountered there.
Our survey found that ethnic minority workers have high aspirations for finding and forging a
sustainable career and that they have a strong work ethic. However this aspiration and exertion
seems to be frustrated at the office door. Some professions, especially those that offer the best
pay, are still not perceived by a large minority of the country’s BAME population as genuine
career options. There are many factors at play. In some professions there is a clear lack of role
models while others are still saddled with a reputation for racism. Worst of all, as is shown in
this research, blatant and shocking racism still exists in parts of the world of work.
The results from the survey show there is still much work to be done, and are a call to action
for politicians, employers and educators to look harder at how they can ensure that these
professions are seen as truly equal opportunity employers. The efforts of the last four
decades to improve employment opportunities for ethnic minority workers in the UK have paid
dividends. The face of the British workforce has changed substantially in British offices, shops,
transport, the health service and factories. But there is further to go to ensure that all walks of
life are open to all. The challenge for the coalition Government, employers and educators is to
ensure that for BAME candidates, the door to the city law firm is as open as the call centre, and
that being a public leader is as normal as sitting behind a supermarket till.
The publication of this report comes at a critical moment. The new Government is grappling
with an extremely challenging political agenda in the face of the toughest economic times for
a generation. The task is to put the country back on a path of sustainable growth. This makes it
an ideal opportunity to ensure that the workforce of tomorrow reflects the population of today
– and especially in the professions and industries that will become so important to the UK in the
21st century and beyond.
It is imperative that Britain’s workforce includes the finest talents drawn from all sections of
society at a time when their intellect and energy will be vital to restoring the UK to long-term
economic health. The aspiration is there: it is now time for those in government, business and
education to ensure that all the barriers to equal opportunity at work are finally removed.
Sandra Kerr
National Director of the Race for
Opportunity campaign,
Business in the Community
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
Introduction
and Main Findings
Ethnic minorities are under-represented in many of the highest paying sectors of
business and public service. While racial discrimination has been illegal for some
years and many major employers have taken great strides to rid themselves of
both overt and institutional racism, there may be more subtle factors at play
that either discourage or fail to attract BAME candidates.
This report is based on an in-depth study of the opinions of almost 1,500 people from all major
ethnic backgrounds in the UK (including white Britons) about all aspects of their attitudes
towards their goals, their views of different industries and on their experience in the workplace.
It asks about the importance and existence of role models; the people BAME workers look to for
support; and about the reality of racism in the office, the meeting room and the staff canteen.
The aim of the exercise was to gain a better understanding of why ethnic minorities seem to
prefer certain businesses and avoid others and to see if the raw reality of working life for ethnic
minorities in 2010 matches the positive rhetoric heard so often from politicians and business
leaders alike.
The survey shows that there is a gap between rhetoric and reality in
four key areas:
1. Despite high levels of aspiration among ethnic minorities, a majority sees many
of the key professions – especially those that offer the potential for the highest
salaries – as being closed off to them.
2. Employers with an historic reputation for racism such as the police and the
armed forces are still seen as unwelcoming to ethnic minorities.
3. Despite a strong desire from ethnic minorities, there are few role models in the
key professions, which may explain the negative image they appear to have.
4. Blatant racism is still far too prevalent in the workplace. While only a minority
has suffered it, for those who have, the pattern of behaviour can be highly
offensive and at worst seems unchanged from the 1970s.
CLICK FOR SPOTLIGHT #1
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
Where were you born?
In the UK
Outside the UK
Prefer not to say
#1 The survey sample
and professions
under the spotlight
Where were you born?
A total of 1,469 people were interviewed for the survey. The largest group was
Indian at 15% followed by white British, white mixed race and Pakistani on 14%
each, and Black Caribbean/Other Black on 13%. Of the total 65% were born
in the UK (falling to 60% if white British are excluded) while 34% were born
outside the UK. Of the non-white British only 15% said their parents were born
in the UK. A large majority are therefore second-generation migrants.
Where were 1%
you born?
Respondents answered more than 20 questions about their background, their attitudes to life,
their experiences of racism and bullying at work. The survey also sought to put together a
detailed picture of their views of particular well-paid or high-profile professions, listed below,
through a further series of 17 questions.
Politics
Banking/Finance
Armed Forces
Legal/Law
Police
Education
Medicine
Media
These professions include some of the best-paid in the country, such as law, banking, and the
media and others that have high status or profile within the community, such as medicine,
politics and education. The armed forces and the police were chosen both to act as benchmarks
for the other professions and because they have an historic reputation for racism that they
have tried hard to eradicate.
In the UK
Outside the UK
Prefer not to say
34%
65%
1%
82% surveyed hold British Citizenship, 17% do not
34%
65%
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
NOT FOR THE LIKES OF US
FAMILY INFLUENCE
ROLE MODELS
CONCRETE CEILING OR OPEN DOOR?
Unleashing
Aspiration
Aspiration was a theme that united all three major political parties during the General Election. A year
ago it dominated the headlines when former Cabinet Minister Alan Milburn declared that bright young
people from middle class as well as lower income backgrounds were being shut out from professional jobs.
The Panel on Fair Access to the Professions1 was looking at class rather than race but all the evidence points to a similar
closed shop to ethnic minority candidates. As Race for Opportunity showed in their report last year, Race to the Top2,
BAME workers make up 10.3% of the population but only 8.5% of the workforce and just 6.3% of those in management
positions. In February 2010 a report published by Friends Provident and the Future Foundation3 said Britain’s workforce was
“polarising” into two distinct groups: the elite – workers in technical, professional and managerial roles – and the excluded.
This report shows that BAME workers share in those aspirations to join the ranks of the best-paid professions but
that they are held back by obstacles to their progression: by their own perception that such careers are “not for them”;
and by blatant racism in the workplace. The answers this research has uncovered are disappointing and a call to action
for government, businesses and educators alike.
There is no shortage of aspiration among Britain’s ethnic
minorities. Almost nine out of 10 of those questioned (89%)
said that they had set personal life goals. When it came
to defining success more than seven out of 10 said that it
meant achieving those goals with 40% specifically citing
achieving a “good job” as a measure of success. Fewer than
one in 10 (8%) saw being famous as a marker of success,
perhaps a repudiation of the popular image of a celebrityobsessed society.
RACISM AT WORK
This finding fits with the conclusion of a separate survey
by Race for Opportunity into BAME representation
in higher education4. The report, Race into Higher
Education, found that the proportion of ethnic minorities
in higher education almost doubled from 8.3% in
1995-96 to 16.0% in 2007-08. The proportion of ethnic
minorities at university exceeded their share of the
18-24 year old population in the UK (14.2%), which
suggests that a significant number of ethnic minorities
are enrolling in higher education later in life.
The aspiration mentality, therefore, is well embedded
in the BAME community. So too is a positive attitude
to work.
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
INSTITUTIONAL RACISM LIVES ON?
SUMMARY
FOREWORD
20
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHINGASPIRATION
ASPIRATION
UNLEASHING
Frustrated
Ambitions
NOT
FOR THE LIKES
OF US
SUPPORT NETWORKS
NOT
FOR THE
LIKES OF US
FAMILY
INFLUENCE
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCRETECEILING
CEILINGOR
OROPEN
OPENDOOR?
DOOR ?
CONCRETE
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
INSTUTIONAL
RACISM
LIVESLIVES
ON? ON?SURVEY CONCLUSIONS
INSTITUTIONAL
RACISM
SUMMARY
Not for the likes of us
TuRNED OFF BY THE PROFESSIONS
All Other Ethnic
It will be impossible to achieve fair representation of ethnic minorities in the key
professions if these jobs are not seen as relevant to them. Asked whether they
were interested in a career in any of the eight activities, 16% said they were
interested in none of them. While the vast majority has a positive attitude to at
least one of them, it still leaves one in 12 who have written them off at the outset.
Broken down by sector, half said they were not interested in joining the armed forces while more
than a third (39%) ruled out the police. Even more however – 44% – ruled out politics as a career.
For all other career choices more than one out of four said they were not interested, meaning
that the next generation of bankers, medics, lawyers, teachers and journalists, will struggle to
have a fairer ethnic mix than the current one. This would be a great disappointment given the
greater take-up of subjects such as law and business by BAME students. RfO’s Race into Higher
Education report found 17% of BAME undergraduates were taking business and administrative
studies courses and 6% a law degree – both higher proportions than their white colleagues.
This disinterest was not just about pay. Unsurprisingly given the furore over MPs’ expenses only
2% saw politics as badly paid. Thanks to publicity over bonuses just 4% saw bankers as poorly
paid and 3% had that view of lawyers. However more than a third saw education as poorly paid.
A sizeable minority held negative impressions of most of these professions. Fewer than
a quarter said that none of them was “aggressive” with around a third using that word
to describe the armed forces (35%) and the police (31%). While those careers clearly entail
the use of physical force as a core part of the job, more than a fifth also put banking, law
and the media in that category. More than one in three saw both banking and the media as
“cut throat” (34% for both) while almost as many (31%) said the same about politics. The
two most amenable professions on that score were medicine (8%) and education (4%).
30
40
50
More worryingly, there was a clear shortage of role models in these industries. Exactly a third
said that none of eight professions offered figures to which they could look up. While banking
and politics were the ones most identified as lacking role models (28% in both cases), between
a tenth and a quarter said the same about the other six potential jobs.
44%
Politics
50%
Armed Forces
39%
Police
27%
Medicine
25%
Banking/Finance
28%
Legal/Law
Education
16%
30%
Media
None
16%
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHINGASPIRATION
ASPIRATION
UNLEASHING
Frustrated
Ambitions
NOT
FOR THE LIKES
OF US
SUPPORT NETWORKS
NOT
FOR THE
LIKES OF US
FAMILY
INFLUENCE
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCRETECEILING
CEILINGOR
OROPEN
OPENDOOR?
DOOR ?
CONCRETE
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
INSTUTIONAL
RACISM
LIVESLIVES
ON? ON?SURVEY CONCLUSIONS
INSTITUTIONAL
RACISM
SUMMARY
Family influence
FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE STRONG INFLUENCE
Some professions face an unexpected obstacle. Asked about their family’s views,
only four out of 10 (42%) said they believed their family would see all of the eight
as suitable. This is a significant finding because, as we shall see later, close family
relations have a much greater influence on ethnic minority groups than on white
Britons. The armed forces had the most negative reputation with 31% of respondents
fearing family disapproval. The figure was high for both politics (16%) and the
police (18%).
All Other Ethnic
25% Other Asian
31%
Armed Forces
18%
Police
Medicine
These findings highlight the danger that some professions fall at the first hurdle when
it comes to ensuring their workforce. A significant minority is either simply not
interested in many of these professions, sees them as poorly paid, as lacking in role
models, as aggressive or cut-throat or not something that their family would approve of.
16%
Politics
Banking/Finance
5%
5%
Education
5%
Media
None
24% Chinese
=
7%
Legal/Law
38% Bang.
10% Other Asian
=
=
9%
15% Pak.
42%
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHINGASPIRATION
ASPIRATION
UNLEASHING
Frustrated
Ambitions
NOT
FOR THE LIKES
OF US
SUPPORT NETWORKS
NOT
FOR THE
LIKES OF US
FAMILY
INFLUENCE
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCRETECEILING
CEILINGOR
OROPEN
OPENDOOR?
DOOR ?
CONCRETE
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
INSTUTIONAL
RACISM
LIVESLIVES
ON? ON?SURVEY CONCLUSIONS
INSTITUTIONAL
RACISM
SUMMARY
Concrete ceiling or open door?
HARD TO GET ONTO THE LADDER
For those that do want to join the ranks of the professionals, the issue will
be whether they believe they can get a foothold in their chosen occupation
and advance up the career ladder. The bad news is that against that positive
backdrop, there is a sense of frustration. A large number of people see many
of the key professions – especially those that offer the potential for the highest
salaries and the greater influence – as being closed off to them.
Only 30% believed that it would be easy to find a job in any of the eight selected professions.
The media industry is seen as the hardest to break into with three out of 10 (31%) saying
it would be difficult to find a job. Law, banking and politics are all seen as relatively hostile
territory with a fifth worried about getting a toehold in the profession.
One reason for this may be that there is simply no information for potential applicants
wanting to join these professions. While most saw the armed forces, the police and medicine
as relatively easy areas to source information, this was not true for all careers. A quarter
singled out politics as a profession with little entry-level guidance and more than a fifth
cited the media industry, with a sizeable minority unsure about banking and law.
On the surface this seems prima facie evidence of the “old boys’ network” or “old school
tie” syndrome that enables friends and family to take advantage of connections and opaque
procedures for entry that are not available or clear to everyone. It is no coincidence that this
phenomenon is most closely associated with white middle class Britons gaining access to
careers in banking, law, politics and the media through nepotism and connections. Indeed
fewer white Britons in our survey saw problems with entry-level information.
All Other Ethnic
20%
Politics
Armed Forces
Police
7%
11%
15%
Medicine
22%
Banking/Finance
24%
Legal/Law
Education
Media
None
9%
31%
30%
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHINGASPIRATION
ASPIRATION
UNLEASHING
Frustrated
Ambitions
NOT
FOR THE LIKES
OF US
SUPPORT NETWORKS
NOT
FOR THE
LIKES OF US
FAMILY
INFLUENCE
... Concrete ceiling or open door?
Even if ethnic minority candidates can overcome these hurdles, they still face a struggle to
rise up the corporate or career ladder. Around one in 10 named each of the eight professions
as ones that offered “little chance” of career progression. The most pessimistic verdict was on
education where a fifth see little likelihood of advancement through the ranks, followed by the
armed forces and the police.
Taken together these answers paint a worrying picture. To a greater or lesser
extent all these professions are seen as difficult to find work in, provide
insufficient entry-level information, and little career progression for those that
do manage to get their foot in the door. Of course these questions are about
perception and doubtless industry organisations and individual employers would
say that they are making strenuous efforts on all of these fronts. The problem
is that perception is an integral part of the challenge of ensuring that the BAME
population is better represented in professions that are well-paid, allow the
holders to wield influence or offer long-term career prospects – or indeed all three.
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCRETECEILING
CEILINGOR
OROPEN
OPENDOOR?
DOOR ?
CONCRETE
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
INSTUTIONAL
RACISM
LIVES
ON? ON?SURVEY CONCLUSIONS
INSTITUTIONAL
RACISM
LIVES
SUMMARY
In all cases the
answers given by
BAME respondents
were less positive
than those
from their white
counterparts. For
instance, while 60%
of whites saw no
barriers in any of
the careers fewer
than half BAME
respondents agreed.
CLICK FOR SPOTLIGHT #2
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
#2 White plight:
more complacent
than BAMEs?
The aim of this survey was to examine the barriers to people from an ethnic
minority background. However the findings have thrown up worrying attitudes
among the white British respondents that raise major questions about their
attitude to work.
Success was only important to 44% of this group compared with 59% overall. They were
the group least interested in having a role model and indeed that appeared to have the worst
access to a role model figure at university or work of any group. Fewer white respondents
had taken up work experience opportunities than any other group.
When it came to the professions, white Britons were markedly less interested in a banking,
legal or media career than BAME respondents. In terms of success, white Britons are the
least likely to define it by intelligence, wealth or being accepted by others.
This may simply reflect a complacent attitude that comes with membership of the indigenous
majority that sees itself as most likely to get jobs. However it may throw up a lack of interest
in the professional world that may need to be addressed at some point.
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHINGASPIRATION
ASPIRATION
UNLEASHING
Frustrated
Ambitions
NOT
FOR THE LIKES
OF US
SUPPORT NETWORKS
NOT
FOR THE
LIKES OF US
FAMILY
INFLUENCE
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCRETECEILING
CEILINGOR
OROPEN
OPENDOOR?
DOOR ?
CONCRETE
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
INSTUTIONAL
RACISM
LIVES
ON? ON?SURVEY CONCLUSIONS
INSTITUTIONAL
RACISM
LIVES
SUMMARY
Institutional racism lives on?
A REPUTATION FOR RACISM
White British
15%
Much progress has been made in the decade since the Macpherson Report
into the murder of Stephen Lawrence branded the Metropolitan Police as
“institutionally racist”. In a speech5 earlier this year former Communities
Secretary John Denham said that “sustained action” over the last 10 years had
promoted racial equality and better race relations, dismantled unfair barriers
faced by many and helped to nurture a society more comfortable with diversity
than ever before. People from ethnic minority backgrounds are no longer
automatically disadvantaged in modern Britain, he said.
30
40
50
However it is clear from our survey that there is still a long way to go, not only in the police
force but also in other professions that have not generated the volume of publicity that
followed Macpherson. Only 40% of those questioned believe that there were no undertones
of racism in any of the eight professions they were asked about.
Almost half of the respondents saw racism in the police and that this rises to 72% for
Black Caribbeans. The armed forces were a close second with 36% of non-white people
seeing undertones of racism with again Black Caribbeans the most negative on 45%.
No profession was seen as devoid of racism. Even the sector with the most positive reputations
– education and medicine where a large number of BAME people work – still had 7% and 8%
respectively citing undertones of racism. Respectively, 16% and 12% of respondents detected
racism in the legal and banking sectors.
More than a quarter cited politics as another problem area, rising to 30% when white
respondents were excluded and 39% of the Black Caribbean group. While social class and levels
of education have traditionally been seen as barriers to entry into politics, it now seems that
race too is an issue. Given that this survey comes at the end of a decade that saw Baroness
Amos become the first black woman to attend Cabinet as Secretary of State for International
Development and six BAME MPs serve as Ministers of State, this indicates the problem may be
at the grassroots.
All Other Ethnic
Politics
30%
25%
Armed Forces
36%
33%
Police
Medicine
Banking/Finance
48%
3%
9%
6%
13%
11%
Legal/Law
Education
Media
None
16%
4%
8%
9%
17%
42%
28%
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHINGASPIRATION
ASPIRATION
UNLEASHING
Frustrated
Ambitions
NOT
FOR THE LIKES
OF US
SUPPORT NETWORKS
NOT
FOR THE
LIKES OF US
FAMILY
INFLUENCE
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCRETECEILING
CEILINGOR
OROPEN
OPENDOOR?
DOOR ?
CONCRETE
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
INSTUTIONAL
RACISM
LIVES
ON? ON?SURVEY CONCLUSIONS
INSTITUTIONAL
RACISM
LIVES
SUMMARY
... Institutional racism lives on?
There was a close correlation between these findings and the professions that were seen as
under-represented by ethnic minorities. Around four out of 10 named politics, the police or
the armed forces as professions that failed to have adequate BAME representation. Banking
and law followed with about one in four while medicine and education were seen as the best
employers but still with a sizeable minority saying they were not fully representative.
Turning the question around to ask which industries are seen as encouraging
and supportive to ethnic minorities showed a more subtle but no less unsettling
picture. No individual sector scored more than 50% in terms of being seen as
either supportive of ethnic minorities or as industries that encouraged ethnic
minorities. The same was true when the answers were broken down according to
ethnic group. The most positive responses came from white British respondents,
which implied that they have a perception of tangible action by the professions,
which is not seen by ethnic minorities themselves.
CLICK FOR SPOTLIGHT #3
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
#3 The police – still a
black and white issue
A decade after the Macpherson Report there is little evidence that the police
force is seen as a career opportunity for Black Britons, particularly for those
of Caribbean descent. The finding that almost three quarters (72%) of Black
Caribbean British believe the police still have undertones of racism was the
most negative of any of the findings. More than half of Black Africans agreed
with them while exactly two-thirds of white Britons disagreed. This negativity
was found elsewhere in the survey. Fewer than one in 10 Black Africans believed
the police were supportive of ethnic minorities and half of Black Caribbeans
believed they were not representative.
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHINGASPIRATION
ASPIRATION
UNLEASHING
Frustrated
Ambitions
NOT
FOR THE LIKES
OF US
SUPPORT NETWORKS
NOT
FOR THE
LIKES OF US
FAMILY
INFLUENCE
Summary so far
This survey has produced some new insights into the ways that these
industries and professions are seen among BAMEs. The main findings are:
• Some of the best-paid professions such as banking, law, politics and the media were
not seen as a realistic option for BAMEs;
•Those with an historic reputation for racism, such as the police and armed forces,
are still seen as unwelcoming to minorities; and
• The ‘caring’ professions, education and medicine, which have a positive history
of BAME recruitment are seen as good options but are seen as less well-paid and
offering less career progression, particularly education.
In order to draw up recommendations to tackle these problems, it is worthwhile looking
at the existence – or otherwise – of role models and support networks for ethnic minority
workers aspiring to the professions and of the reality of life for people from a BAME
background in the workplace.
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCRETECEILING
CEILINGOR
OROPEN
OPENDOOR?
DOOR ?
CONCRETE
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
INSTUTIONAL
RACISM
LIVES
ON? ON?SURVEY CONCLUSIONS
INSTITUTIONAL
RACISM
LIVES
SUMMARY
FOREWORD
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
NETWORKS
ROLE MODELS
Where
do you go SUPPORT
for support?
INTRODUCTION
RACISM AT WORK
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
Support is a family affair
Home-grown
support networks
At some point in their lives, everyone needs a shoulder to cry on to get through
a rough time, whether at work, school or in their personal lives. The existence
of a support network and a diverse set of role models are vital for any wellfunctioning society. They can also help inspire people to make particular choices
at key crossroads such as entering the jobs market.
It is revealing that the vast majority of BAME people surveyed said that they looked to family
and friends for the support to help them achieve the goals they had set for themselves. Threequarters picked their family as one of their main pillars of support while two-thirds cited friends.
Just over a third said their workplace provided that support, with 19% looking to teachers
and lecturers while career advisers were name-checked by just a tenth. The local church or
equivalent religious centre was mentioned by 15% (although interestingly by half of those of
Black African descent who took part).
SUPPORT IS A FAMILY THING
All Other Ethnic
74%
Family
64%
Friends
Work/
Employer
37%
Teachers/
Lecturers
19%
Church/
Religious advice
While it is a positive sign that so many people look to family and friends for support in achieving
their goals, the findings do raise two issues. The first is that people may rely on a home-grown
network because there is a lack of professional support systems. Asked whether they had access
to a support network at their work, seven out of 10 said they either did not have one or did not
know if one existed. Of the 30% who answered yes, only a third had ever used it.
Career advisors
This leads onto the second issue, which is the enhanced importance of the views of the family
support network that we saw earlier. Any profession that is seen as an inappropriate career
by family members, who are the key providers of support, will face an uphill struggle to recruit
members from that ethnic group. The survey findings imply a link between those professions
which carry a historic reputation for racism or lack of support for minorities, such as the police
and armed forces, and those that still encounter resistance from within the family. This means
that certain professions face higher barriers to attracting ethnic minority candidates without
more vigorous action to root out racism and its causes.
Myself
Community
groups
Other
(specify)
NA/No-one
15%
11%
6%
2%
2%
1%
that you want in your life?
FOREWORD
25
l(
0)
.0)
4.0)
(5.0)
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
Role models
required
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
How important is it that you have access to a
role model to help you achieve all that you
want in your life?
30
Ethnicity
Anyone
setting out on a career path needs a role model. Our survey shows that
this is especially true for ethnic minority workers looking to make their way in a
White British Other ethnic
largely white-dominated workplace. However it also reveals that there is a severe
200 1269
shortage
of role models.
Our survey panel attached a lot of importance to having access to a role model to help them
achieve their life goals. Ranked on a scale of one to seven, where seven was important, a tenth
18
48
gave it the highest grade with a further 50% grading it from four to six. The mean score was
9.00%
4.63.
White3.78%
Britons were the least interested with a mean score of 3.99. The most enthusiastic
were Black Africans on 5.17 followed by Indians on 4.99 with all other groups grading it between
4.44 and 4.84.
24
17.00%
9.69%
But asked to name a role model off the top of their head, excluding family and friends, a
third did not offer anyone, with only four out of 10 from a Bangladeshi or Pakistani heritage
providing a name. No one single personality gathered more than 10% support with Sir Richard
29
158
Branson the most named with 7%, followed by “someone at work” (5%) and a teacher (4%).
14.50%
12.45%
The
only other business
personalities to score above 1% were Sir Alan Sugar and the telecoms
entrepreneur Peter Jones, a long-serving member of BBC2’s Dragons’ Den.
386
28.00%
29
4%
11%
15%
6
22%
28%
5
30%
15%
4
12%
96
There was also a clear view of the attributes that a role model should have. More than threequarters
cited honesty,
respect, being easy to talk to and being motivational as their preferred
12.00%
7.57%
characteristics. Racial profile played a relatively unimportant role. Fewer than one in 10 said it
was important that a role model was of the same ethnic or religious background. There were
some
differences: a quarter of Black Africans wanted a role model from their racial
34 ethnic123
background with only 3% of Black Caribbeans and Chinese agreeing, for example.
56
Very important - 7
284
30.42%
17%
3
10%
12%
2
Not important
at all - 1
8%
9%
4%
2%
Don’t know
3%
White British
All Other Ethnic
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
... Role models
required
20
Other names to emerge were a mix of sports personalities (David Beckham), show business
(Cheryl Cole, Simon Cowell) and politics (Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and The Queen). None
of those who scored at least 1% was from a BAME background. This mismatch between the
strong desire for role models and the lack of such figures in business is striking. For example,
Bangladeshis and Pakistanis gave a high ranking to the importance of role models yet were
the most reticent when it came to naming one. The picture was reinforced by the fact that a
sizeable minority said that all of the professions lacked role models. Banking and politics stood
out with 28% saying there were no inspirational figures around a fifth said the same about
law, education and journalism.
25
30
35
Overall, there is a strong impression that the shortage of BAME role models that people
can name, combined with a lack of visibility of prominent figures from an ethnic minority
background in professions such as banking, law and the media, is acting as a subtle
deterrent to people from these groups.
ROLE MODELS
Thinking about the characteristics
RACISM
WORK
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2
3 4 5 exc
6
youATmentioned
previously
and
and friends, which one UK based i
you consider a role model?
MINORITY ROLE MODELS NOTABLE BY THEIR ABSENCE
7%
Sir Richard Branson
Someone at work
/Boss/Colleague
5%
A family member
5%
Teacher/
Tutor/Lecturer
Sir Alan Sugar
David Beckham
4%
3%
2%
Peter Jones
1%
Margaret Thatcher
1%
The Queen
1%
Gordon Brown
1%
Tony Blair
1%
Cheryl Cole
1%
A friend
1%
Simon Cowell
1%
Other mentors
No role model
34%
32%
CLICK FOR SPOTLIGHT #4
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
#4 Black Africans
offer beacon of hope
Black Africans are a small but fast-growing ethnic minority group in the UK.
Immigration has risen from 5,000 a year in the 1970s to as much as 40,000
a year in the last decade6. Our survey showed that they have a noticeably more
positive and ambitious attitude compared with both white Britons and other
BAME groups and show significantly different trends in terms of role models
and career support.
Success is more important to Black Africans than to any other group, with 78% citing it as
one of the top life targets compared with an average of 59%. Two thirds described themselves
as optimistic (versus 51%). More than half said they had access to a role model, with almost
all of those citing their church as the source of support – well above the 14% cited for other
groups. Almost a quarter said that having access to a role model was “very important”, again
higher than other groups. They were also the biggest participators in work experience and
those with the strongest desire for role models.
Previous studies have shown that Black Africans tend to do better economically than many
other migrant groups 7. The findings in this survey may show that one reason for this is the
positive attitude that they bring and pass on to their families, and the role of churches as role
models. These findings should inform policy initiatives to imbue other ethnic groups with the
attitudes needed to advance through the professions.
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
Success is more
important to
Black Africans
than to any
other group
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
Racism at work:
an old stain in
a modern world
While a lack of visible BAME role models might be a subtle deterrent, racism
and bullying in the workplace should be seen as blatant and abhorrent barriers
to workers from all backgrounds joining the workplace in the 21st century.
Sadly our research shows that racism is still a feature of daily business life.
Have you ever been offended by a racial
ROLE MODELS
AT WORK
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
remarkRACISM
in your
current
place
of work?
Have you ever been offended by a racial remark
in your current place of work?
3%
Yes
No
Prefer not to say
22%
75%
More than a fifth said they had been offended by a racial remark in their place of work, with
Chinese the most egregious victims with 35% citing an example, followed by a quarter of
Pakistanis. While the fact that three-quarters said that they had not been offended shows that
racism is a minority crime, its continued presence in the world of work should be unacceptable.
The most common racial insults were described by the victims as general stereotypical
comments on language, skin colour, religion and lifestyle. Many others cited specific Black-,
Asian- and Chinese-related comments. When it came to bullying a greater number of
Chinese, Black African and Asian workers reported incidents compared with white Britons.
CLICK FOR SPOTLIGHT #5
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
ROLE MODELS
#5 Racist abuse – a
throwback to the 1970s
RACISM AT WORK
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
“All Muslims are
fundamentalists”
The survey threw up some graphic examples of the type of racist insults that BAME
workers have to put up with today. Many are too offensive to repeat and appear to be
a throwback to the 1970s when television programmes such as Love Thy Neighbour,
Mind your Language and Til Death Do Us Part were seen as acceptable.
Several contributors said that they were insulted by work colleagues who did not believe they
could understand English. On the religious front, Muslims cited the most examples of insults.
“All Muslims are fundamentalists,” one recalled being told.
One of the most poignant comments came from someone who was called a terrorist by the owner
of the company in front of his colleagues. “They are generally good people. I don’t mind if someone
calls me a Paki as I am proud and happy about what I am. It is just the way this word is used, which
is full of hatred and malice.”
CLICK FOR SPOTLIGHT #6
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
#6 Chinese –
overlooked victims
of discrimination?
The debate over discrimination, especially in the media, is often seen through a
prism of Black and Asian issues, whether due to high profile murders in the case
of one group, or terrorist fundamentalism in the case of the other. However this
survey shows clearly that British Chinese too are getting a raw end of the deal
in the jobs market. They hold a less positive outlook, being less likely to describe
themselves as optimistic, set personal goals, or feel part of the community and
are by far the most likely to see barriers to entering employment.
In terms of the attraction of individual industries, Chinese respondents were by far the group
least interested in a career in politics, the armed forces, the police, medicine – which they saw
as discriminating against them and as lacking in entry-level information – and education, which
they said had undertones of racism.
But it was the questions about the experiences at work that were most alarming. More Chinese
than members of any other group reported being offended by a racial remark. Comments
passed on through the survey revealed widespread use of offensive words to describe Chinese
people and insulting references to takeaway food. Sadly they were the least likely to get on
with colleagues or see themselves as fitting into their workplace and the most critical of their
employers’ efforts to take ethnic diversity seriously and understand minorities’ backgrounds.
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
Conclusion and
Recommendations
Britain’s professions are still not seen by a large minority of the country’s BAME
population as genuine career options. Despite the hard work that professional
associations and individual firms have put in, they have failed to win over fully
the hearts and minds of the whole population. They might say in their defence
that this is all a matter of perception. But if the perception of a sizeable chunk
of BAME communities in the UK is that the doors to key professions are closed,
then that itself is a justification for action. What is deeply concerning is that
blatant racism still exists in parts of the world of work – so organisations need
to do more to combat that and ensure employees know it is unacceptable.
By taking concerted and co-ordinated action, politicians, employers and educators can ensure
that the path to the ranks of the professions is made smooth for BAME workers while at the
same time ensuring that racism at work becomes truly and finally a thing of the past. This is
not about equity and equality; it is about ensuring that Britain’s workforce includes the finest
talents at a time where their intellect and hard work will be vital to restoring the UK to longterm economic health.
The task is to turn the aspiration and educational qualification of the BAME workforce into
real and visible achievement. It is good news that more BAME children are reaching university
and taking subjects such as law, medicine and business. But this will all be wasted if the
relevant professions are not employing BAME graduates. The Government must guard against
any complacency that race is no longer an issue in UK plc and show it is committed to equal
opportunity across the employment spectrum.
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
To achieve that we recommend that the coalition Government clearly demonstrate
its commitment to tear down the barriers of social mobility set out within its
coalition document programme for government ‘Freedom Fairness Responsibility’.
• We recommend that the range of measures it plans to introduce to end discrimination
at work, including promoting equal pay, take full account of race as well as gender;
• We recommend it extend its commitment to promote gender equality on boards
of listed companies to also include race diversity;
• We recommend that it widely promotes its plans for providing internships for
BAME people in every Whitehall department as a practice to be followed by
private sector employers;
• We recommend that the school curricula includes courses that will assist entry into
the professions especially where there is little history of BAME students taking up
those careers such as law, accountancy and banking.
Schools, colleges and universities must make sure that students see these careers
as viable opportunities. In particular they should:
• Widen career support networks to include the professions;
• Train careers officers in cultural awareness and ensure that they work towards meeting
the aspirations of BAME people instead of pigeon-holing them into stereotypically
“ethnic” jobs; and
• Work with employers to bring BAME role models to school, college and university
careers events.
Employers within the main professions need to look at why they currently risk
putting off potential BAME candidates from seeking a career with them. They should:
• Work together to agree a common approach to promoting access to industry sectors,
including encouraging company directors, among others, to become involved in mentoring
activities and programmes;
• Commit to producing diverse shortlists for vacancies, particularly in those sectors
that this report has shown are seen as off limits, uninviting or unsupportive;
• Make it clear in their recruitment materials that they welcome candidates from
BAME backgrounds and ensure that there are no issues that present “invisible”
barriers to minorities; and
• Encourage more experienced BAME employees to join networks such as Business
in the Community’s MERLIN programme, which provides role models for young people
in secondary education.
FOREWORD
INTRODUCTION
UNLEASHING ASPIRATION
SUPPORT NETWORKS
It is essential that employers, recruitment partners and government
work together to improve the diversity of recruitment pipelines. With the
support of the EHRC and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation
(REC), Race for Opportunity is currently leading a partnership initiative
between large employers and recruitment agencies. These employers
including BT, HSBC, Prudential and the Department of Health are working
with recruitment agencies, such as Pertemps and Michael Page to produce
a set of tools which include a format for standardised diversity reporting
and common wording for recruitment related procurement.
ROLE MODELS
RACISM AT WORK
CONCLUSION
SPOTLIGHTS 1 2 3 4 5 6
Race for Opportunity is currently working with key stakeholders to develop
a free online diversity tool for employers and individuals, which can identify
any bias that may prevent employers from appreciating the benefits of
recruiting an ethnically diverse workforce. It is designed to support employers
in becoming an employer of choice for all workers by attracting, retaining
and progressing people from a wide and diverse talent pool. The tool is being
developed with the rationale that subconscious bias is a fact of life – many
of us are guilty of it – but once you know about it you can ensure that your
behaviour does not reflect it.
Department of Health
Surinder Sharma, National Director
Race
for Opportunity
Board Members
for Equality
& Human Rights
EDF Energy
Patrick Clarke
MITIE
(Chair Mr
of RfO)
Director
of
Connections
Ms Ruby McGregor-Smith, CEO
KPMG Sarah
Ms Michelle
Quest
ASDA
Dickinson
Partner
Retail People Director
Barclays Bank PLC Mr Dixit Joshi
Managing Director and Head
of Equity Derivatives
British Army Colonel Mark Abraham
Race for Opportunity
Champions
Assistant
Director Employment
Department
of Health
ASDA
Surinder
Sharma, National Director
British Army
for
Equality
& Human
Barclays
Bank
Plc Rights
BT
EDF Energy Mr Patrick Clarke
Deloitte of
& Connections
Touche
Director
Department for Work and Pensions
KPMG
Ms Michelle
Quest
Department
of Health
Partner
EDF Energy
Ernst & Young LLP
Financial Service Authority (FSA)
HM Revenue & Customs
Home Office
Head of Corporate Responsibility
Shell Companies in the UK
Mr James Smith, Chairman
Race for Opportunity Champions
Appointment
Commission
The Royal Bank
of Scotland Group
Ms
Anne
Watts,
Mr Ron TeerlinkCBE, CEO
Chief Administrative
Officer
Pardoes
Mr Denys Rayner,
CEO
ASDA
British Army
Barclays Bank Plc
BT
Deloitte & Touche
Department for Work and Pensions
Department of Health
EDF Energy
Ernst & Young LLP
Financial Service Authority (FSA)
HM Revenue & Customs
Home Office
Transport People
for London
Pertemps
Management
Mr
Andrew
Ms Carmen Quincey
Watson, Managing Director
of Group
Procurement
-Director
Commercial
Division
Roast Mr Iqbal Wahhab, CEO
Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd
Mr Jat Sahota
Head ofBank
Corporate
HSBC
Plc Responsibility
KPMG
Shell Companies in the UK
McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd
Mr James Smith, Chairman
MITIE
The RoyalofBank
of Scotland Group
Ministry
Justice
Mr Ron Teerlink
National
Grid
Chief Administrative
Officer
Pertemps
Recruitment
Partnership
Prudential
Transport for London
RBS
Mr Andrew Quincey
Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd
Director of Group Procurement
Santander Group (ex Abbey)
Shell Companies in the UK
Transport for London
For further information on the Race for Opportunity campaign.
Please visit www.raceforopportunity.org.uk or telephone 020 7566 8661
Business
Business in
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mobilising business
business for
for good.
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For
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Please
visit
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020 7566 Ltd
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For further information on the Race for Opportunity
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01OPP000435
Business
Business in
in the
the Community
Community -- mobilising
mobilising business
business for
for good.
good.
We
We inspire,
inspire, engage,
engage, support
support and
and challenge
challenge
companies
companies on
on responsible
responsible business,
business, working
working
HSBC Bank Plc
KPMG
McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd
MITIE
Ministry of Justice
National Grid
Pertemps Recruitment Partnership
Prudential
RBS
Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd
Santander Group (ex Abbey)
Shell Companies in the UK
Transport for London
Business
Business in
in the
the Community
Community
137
137 Shepherdess
Shepherdess Walk
Walk
London N1
N1 7RQ
7RQ
London
We
We inspire,
inspire, engage,
engage, support
support and
and challenge
challenge
companies
companies on
on responsible
responsible business,
business, working
working
through
through four
four areas:
areas: Marketplace,
Marketplace, Workplace,
Workplace,
Environment
Environment and
and Community.
Community. With
With more
more than
than
850
850 companies
companies in
in membership,
membership, we
we represent
represent 11 in
in 55
of
of the
the UK
UK private
private sector
sector workforce
workforce and
and convene
convene aa
network
network of
of global
global partners.
partners.
www.bitc.org.uk
www.opportunitynow.org.uk
[email protected]
[email protected]