A Special Blog by Angelique Retief, BSWN Research & Policy Officer
Race Equality Week is an annual UK-wide movement uniting thousands of organisations and individuals to address the barriers to race equality in the workplace. According to the McGregor-Smith Review (2017), the employment rate for Black and Minoritised groups is only 62.8% compared with 75.6% for White workers. This gap is even worse for some ethnic groups, such as for those from a Pakistani or Bangladeshi background where it is only 54.9%. Overall, about 1 in 8 of the working-age population are from an ethnic minority background, yet these individuals make up only 10% of the workforce and hold only 6% of top management positions. The Parker Review (2016) of the ethnicity of UK boards found that only 85 of the 1,050 director positions in the FTSE 100 are held by directors of colour.
Infographic displaying racial disparities in the UK
The last couple of years have been particularly difficult for Black and Minoritised people in the UK. The disproportionate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Arguably the most draconian of immigration policies that includes deportation alongside drownings caused by the pushing of small boats back into the Channel to prevent asylum seekers landing. Increased state harassment as shown by the figures for 2019-20 which illustrated that Black people are over three times more likely to be detained than white people, nine times more likely to be stopped and searched by police than white people, and 18 times more likely to be stopped under section 60 (where no reasonable suspicion is required). And of course, the Black Lives Matter movement and subsequent toppling of the Colston statue. These are just a few of the issues and challenges faced by these communities.
These issues are emblematic of long-standing inequities that are rooted in systemic discrimination and yet the (widely discredited) Sewell Report, commissioned by the government, sought to deny institutionalised racism. Racism is complex and instead of pushing for transformative change, we often find ourselves seeking to protect the gains of past racial justice movements against attack which leaves underlying structural problems unchallenged.
Perhaps more important however is a lack of clarity/agreement about what racial justice means in this political moment. A shared language serves an important function. It allows us to present data, discuss and describe conditions and outcomes while also identifying the root causes of inequities. A mutual language provides a narrative that helps to communicate the racial justice movement both internally and externally, while creating a platform for collaborative work towards equitable goals. We talk of equality, equity, inclusion, and justice but this diversity of language, and more importantly of goals, leads to fragmentation. Language is important because it changes the nature of the problem and therefore the solution. For example, saying “Black people are less likely to get a mortgage from a provider”, instead of saying, “providers are less likely to give mortgages to Black people”, may seem like a reordering of words but there are very real implications. “Black people are less likely to get a mortgage from a provider” makes people question what the problem is with Black people which leads to financial literacy programmes and so on. When we say, “providers are less likely to give mortgages to Black people”, it leads us to ask what the problem is with mortgage providers which in term leads to more systemic change.
Racial equity is the process for moving towards the vision of racial justice, it is not the end goal. It seeks measurable milestones and outcomes that can be achieved on the road to racial justice. Racial equity is a process of eliminating racial disparities and improving outcomes for everyone. It is the intentional and continual practice of changing policies, procedures, systems, and structures by prioritising measurable change in the lives of Black and Minoritised people. Racial equity is necessary, but not sufficient, for racial justice.
Racial Justice on the other hand is a vision and a transformation of society to eliminate racial hierarchies and advance collective liberation, where Black and Minoritised people have the dignity, resources, power, and self-determination to fully thrive. Racial justice goes beyond anti-racism. It is not just the absence of inequities, but also the presence of deliberate systems and supports to achieve and sustain racial equity through proactive and preventative measures. The discourses of justice provide a way in which to engage and capture the multiple identities and experiences of oppression.
You can’t change what you can’t name, and it is therefore important to ensure we rally around the same language. The events of 2020, including the Black Lives Matter movement and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on ethnic minority communities, has heightened public consciousness of race inequality. Now there is a need to galvanise and maximise impact through a nationwide collaboration for real change.