Dr Yaojun Li

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Labour Market Positionsof Minority Ethnic
Groupsin Britain 1972-2005 For RGS-IBG, 30
August 2006(ESRC RES-163-25-0003)Project
websitehttp//www.uptap.net/project17.html

• Dr Yaojun Li
• Department of Sociology
• Birmingham University
• Email y.li.3_at_bham.ac.uk
• Tel [phone]
• Professor Anthony Heath
• Department of Sociology
• Oxford University

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Aims

• To conduct a systematic research on the labour
  market positions and political orientations of
  the Minority Ethnic Groups (MEGs) in Britain by
  analysing harmonized variables on ethnicity,
  socio-economic position and political orientation
  from the GHS (1972-2005), LFS (1975-2005), BES
  (1974-2005), BSA (1983-2004).
• To compare inter- and intra- generational
  experiences of the MEGs both amongst themselves
  and between them and the White charter
  population.
• With regard to the positions in the labour
  market, we shall focus on employment status,
  self-employment, occupational attainment, and
  earnings from paid work.
• With regard to political orientations, we shall
  examine political participation, political
  orientation and party support of the MEGs.
• From these comparisons, we wish to assess the
  extent and nature of ethnic penalties,
  particularly those by the second generation, to
  provide evidence for human capital and social
  capital theories on ethnic disadvantage, and to
  explore the extent to which socio-economic
  integration of the MEGs is matched by their
  socio-political integration.

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Research on ethnic disadvantages-- where
academic and policy interests converge

• Academic interests, esp. since 1991 SAR
• The 1965 Race Relations Act, which made
  discrimination in public places unlawful, but
  excluding employment and housing
• The 1968 Race Relations Act, which made it
  unlawful to discriminate on grounds of colour,
  race, or ethnic or national origins in
  recruitment, training, promotions, dismissals,
  and terms and conditions of employment
  (Layton-Henry, 1985)
• The 1976 Race Relations Act, which extended the
  definition of discrimination to include indirect
  discrimination
• The 2000 Race Relations (Amendment) Act, placing
  a general duty on public authorities to eliminate
  unlawful discrimination
• It is a government objective to eliminate
  discrimination. Though it is nearly 40 years
  since the first Race Relations Act, it is clear
  that racial discrimination in the labour market
  still persists, says Tony Blair and he sets the
  goal that in ten years time, ethnic minority
  groups should no longer face disproportionate
  barriers to accessing and realising opportunities
  for achievement in the labour market (Cabinet
  Office, 2003).

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Distributions of Ethnic Groups in Britain
1972-2005
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Ethnic distribution by year
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The employment and occupational status men aged
16-64
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Defining generation and period
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Time of arrival in Britain
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Generational status of MEGs
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Overall patterns of employment
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Overall patterns of class
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Main conclusions on labour market situations of
men aged 16-2005 in Britain

• Among the invisible MEGs, Irish men were
  disadvantaged in the earlier period but caught up
  with the White British from the 1990s onwards,
  and the White Others almost always had favourable
  positions, in terms of access to the
  professional-managerial positions, avoiding the
  semi and unskilled manual jobs, and unemployment.
  The employment rates of the Irish men are still
  lower than those of the White British men in
  recent years, though.
• Among the visible MEGs, Black Africans were
  generally more likely to be in professional-manage
  rial positions than the White British men, and
  the Indians showed no major differences from the
  White British. Black Caribbean and
  Pakistani/Bangladeshi men were less likely to be
  in the professional-managerial positions but the
  former were making much steady progress than the
  latter over the 34-year period. The last two
  groups were also more likely to face unemployment
  (and Black Africans in the 1990s, too) and to be
  in unskilled working class positions.
• Pakistani/Bangladeshi men were keen to take
  self-employment since early 1980s onwards and are
  now even more likely to be self-employed than the
  Chinese men. If both salariat and self-employment
  are counted, as in the conventional sense, as
  middle class groups, then Pakistani-Bangladeshi
  men are somewhat less disadvantaged than men of
  Black Caribbean origins.
• Black Caribbean and Pakistani/Bangladeshi men
  faced a lot of difficulties in the earlier period
  but were doing better in later periods. The 2nd
  generation men from Black African, Indian,
  Pakistani and Bangladeshi origins were doing
  better than their 1st generation counterparts in
  terms of gaining access to the professional-manage
  rial positions.
• The overall pattern is one of convergence,
  whether we look at gaining access to the
  advantaged professional-managerial positions, or
  in avoidance of semi/unskilled working class
  positions or unemployment. This said, there are
  still marked differences between the MEGs and the
  White British men, especially in terms of
  employment rates.
• The overall balance of the data suggests that the
  White Others and Indians were the most successful
  groups in the labour market with the Black
  Caribbeans and Pakistani/Bangladeshis being
  disadvantaged.
• Even though several ethnic minority groups are
  still disadvantaged, there has been remarkable
  progress at reducing ethnic disadvantages in
  British society in the past 3 decades. The
  government Race Relations Acts (1965, 1968, 1976,
  2000) seem to have had some notable impacts.

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My writings on the labour market

• Li, Y. and Pollert, A. (2006) The unorganized
  worker in WERS 2004 socio-demographic
  attributes, workplace characteristics and
  work-life experience, research paper
  commissioned by DTI and RSS.
• Li, Y. (2005) Exploring income differentials a
  comparison between human and social capital
  approaches, presentation at the ESDS Government
  Research Conference, British Academy, 4 Nov.
  2005 http//www.ccsr.ac.uk/esds/events/2005-11-04
  /li.doc
• Li, Y. (2005) Social capital, ethnicity and the
  labour market, Proceedings of International
  Conference on Engaging Community,
  http//engagingcommunities2005.org/abstracts/Li-Ya
  ojun-final.pdf
• Garrat, D. and Li, Y. (2005) The foundations of
  experimental/empirical research methods, in B.
  Somekh and C. Lewin (eds). Research Methods in
  the Social Sciences, London Sage, pp 198-206.
• Li, Y. and R. OLeary (2004) Progress in
  reducing Catholic disadvantages in Northern
  Ireland, in Anthony Heath and Sin Yi Cheung
  (eds), Ethnic Differences across Countries,
  Oxford OUP.
• Purdam, K. and Li, Y. with Brown, M. and Wathan,
  J. (2003) A profile of the housing and
  socio-economic circumstances of black and
  minority ethnic people in Wales, Cardiff
  National Assembly of Wales.
• Li, Y. (2002) Falling off the ladder?
  Professional and managerial career trajectories
  and unemployment experiences, European
  Sociological Review, 18(3) 253-70.
• Li, Y., Bechhofer, F., McCrone, D., Anderson, M.
  and Stewart, R. (2002) A Divided Working Class?
  Planning and Career Perception in the Service and
  Working Classes, Work, Employment and Society,
  16(4) 617-636.