Race in the UK

1
Race in the UK
Is there racial equality?
2
Multicultural UK
Black, Caribbean Of all British people of black
ethnic origin, those with roots in the Caribbean
are by far the most numerous and the most
widespread. London is the largest with over 53.7
of ethnic black Caribbeans living in the capital.
Black, African Estimates from 2000 suggest
that 78 of black Africans live in London.
Indian People defining themselves as Indian
are the largest single ethnic minority group in
Britain. Again, London is home to most
ethnic-Indian people in Britain, with estimates
suggesting that 42 of the population lived
there. Pakistani The Pakistani community in
Britain is much more evenly spread than many
other ethnic communities. 23 of Pakistanis live
in London. When compared with the Indian and
Bangladeshi communities, those defining
themselves as Pakistani have a greater
geographical spread, with communities in the
north east of England, Scotland and Wales.
Bangladeshi The Bangladeshi community is the
smallest of the three main south Asian
populations in the UK.
3
Race is not just defined by colour
White people can be racist towards each
other! There is a long history of anti-Irish
racism in the UK. More recently there have been
cases of anti-English racism in Scotland and
racist attacks against eastern European
immigrants.
Under the Equality Act (2010), racial
discrimination arises when a person or group is
treated less favourably than another in similar
circumstances 'on racial grounds'. These are
defined as colour, race nationality (including
citizenship), or ethnic or national origins.
Discrimination might be on the grounds that a
person was black (colour), Chinese (ethnic or
national origins rather than nationality if the
person came from Malaysia), or Pakistani
(nationality), and it includes discrimination
against white people (grounds of colour), or
against Europeans of particular nationalities
(for example, Irish, English, Polish).
4
Multicultural Scotland
Above L-R Aamer Anwar solicitor, The Glasgow
Girls, anti deportation campaigners Agnesa
Murselaj, Amal Azzudin and Roza Salih Bashir,
Ahmad, former MSP (died 2009). Scotland has a
smaller proportion of BME residents than England
Scotlands BME population stood at around 2.2 per
cent in the 2001 census. The greatest
concentration of the Scottish BME population is
in Glasgow and to some extent its suburbs. In
recent years East Renfrewshire has seen the
largest percentage growth in BME population as
residents move to the outer southern Glasgow
suburbs.
The Glasgow Girls
5
Islamophobia
Racial tensions have increased since the 9/11
attacks on America. The 7/7 bombings in London
and the Glasgow airport attack have heightened
tensions.
Islamophobia
6
Glasgow airport attack
Aftermath of the Glasgow airport attack
Racial tensions increased after the attacks on
Glasgow airport in July 2007. Strathclyde Police
reported that between 1 and 27 July, there were
258 reported racial attacks, 31 of which were
airport-related. Previously, the force had been
dealing with around 200 such incidents a month.
7
Changing times Merit, not Race
Halifax ad
Howard Sheldon became the face of HBOS after he
won an in-house audition. "It's perhaps the
best example of positive black advertising we've
seen," says Sam Walker of HBOS. "He's there
because he's a good salesman of financial
products - no other reason." Raman Bhardwaj
presents sports news on Scotland Today. Left,
Navdeep Poonia is one of the Scotland Saltires
top cricketers.
8
2010 Record Number of BME MPs
2010 Record Number of BME MPs
There are now 27 minority ethnic MPs, an increase
of 13 from 2005. Helen Grant becomes the first
woman of African descent to represent the
Conservatives at Westminster. Shabana Mahmood
(LAB), above Left, became the first ever female
Muslim MP. Priti Patel, above Right, became the
first Conservative Asian female MP.

9
Government in Scotland
There are no MSPs of a BME background. There
are only a few BME councillors 9 out of 1,222
councillors, or just below 1 per cent. All are
men of Asian heritage.
Irfan RabbaniLabour, Glasgow
Shaukat Butt, Labour, Glasgow
Khalil Malik, SNP, Glasgow
Jahangir Hanif, SNP, Glasgow
10
Overt Racism
In June 2009, around 20 families of Roma people
from Romania were forced to flee their homes in
Belfast after coming under sustained attack for a
number of nights. A crowd gathered outside their
homes shouting racist slogans, smashing windows
and kicking in doors. They were forced to seek
refuge in a nearby church before leaving the
country.
Northern Ireland, which is 99 white, holds the
UK's record for the highest rate of racist
attacks.
Attacks on Roma, Northern Ireland
11
Institutional Racism The Met
Institutional racism remains a problem. The term
came into the public domain after the botched
investigation by the Metropolitan Police into the
murder of Stephen Lawrence. The force accepted it
was institutionally racist.
the collective failure of an organisation to
provide an appropriate and professional service
to people because of their colour, culture or
ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in
processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount
to discrimination through unwitting prejudice,
ignorance, thoughtlessness and racial
stereotyping which disadvantages minority ethnic
people.
McPherson report
12
Institutional Racism BA?
"What is common among white flying crew in BA is
the use of mildly derogatory, sometimes jokey,
language about other races, mainly aimed at black
and Asian groups. Because it's so common, it's
hard to tackle it's ... the norm and rarely even
noticed."
Doug Maughan, airline pilot
13
Government Action Race Relations Acts
Overt racial discrimination (i.e. name calling,
bullying, refusal of jobs) has been illegal since
the Race Relations Act of 1976. This law makes
it illegal to discriminate in jobs, housing and
public services, on the basis of a persons
ethnic background, although amazingly the police
service was, at the time, omitted from this Act.
The Race Relations Act was incorporated into
the new Equalities Act (October 2010) The
Scottish Government has also launched a variety
of anti-racist campaigns and supported the Show
Racism the Red Card initiative.
14
The Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act incorporates all previous
Equalities legislation. Rights and
Responsibilities have either Stayed the same.
Direct discrimination still occurs when "someone
is treated less favourably than another person
because of a protected characteristic". Changed
for example, employees will now be able to
complain of harassment even if it is not directed
at them, if they can demonstrate that it creates
an offensive environment for them. Been
extended. associative discrimination (direct
discrimination against someone because they
associate with another person who possesses a
protected characteristic) will cover age,
disability, gender reassignment and sex as well
as race, religion and belief and sexual
orientation. Be introduced for the first time.
The legislation will enable employers to favour
under-represented groups during the recruitment
process  provided the candidates are of equal
suitability  to increase the diversity of their
workforces. This is comparable to the affirmative
action programmes of the USA.
15
Government Action the EHRC
The EHRC replaced the old Commission for Racial
Equality in 2008. Its job is to support the
implementation of the Equality Act. It seeks to
promote good race relations and offer legal
advice to organisations and individuals.
Trevor Phillips, chair of EHRC
EHRC Young Brits at Art
16
Continued Inequality The Glass Door

• There is anecdotal evidence from research in
  England that employers say my workforce wouldnt
  be happy about working for a boss with a hijab
• Rowena Arshad, Director, Centre for Education
  for Racial Equality in Scotland

Many of Scotlands minority ethnic community
workers are employed in low level, poorly paid
jobs. Retail and catering are two of the main
sectors, often through self employment,
(newsagent or grocery store) or being employed by
other minority ethnic employers, e.g. working in
restaurants. Some people speak, not of a glass
ceiling (gender discrimination) but a glass
door for minority ethnic men and women. If you
dont see people like you in top level jobs it
may become a self fulfilling prophecy. There
are also racial stereotypes, fuelled by
Islamophobia which make employers less likely to
employ or promote minority ethnic candidates.
17
Aspiration and Frustration
A 2010 survey by the charity Business in the
Community, Aspiration and Frustration, found
that despite years of Government legislation,
equality of opportunity remained a long way
off. It concluded that Some of the best-paid
professions such as banking, law, politics and
the media were not seen as a realistic option for
BMEs. Those with an historic reputation for
racism, such as the police and armed forces, are
still seen as unwelcoming to minorities. 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.
The 2009 Race for Opportunity Report showed that
BME workers make up 10.3 of the population but
only 8.5 of the workforce and just 6.3 of those
in management positions.
18
Racial Harassment The BNP
At the European Elections of June 2009, the
racist British National Party (BNP) managed to
have two MEPs elected. Many who voted BNP may
not have been aware of the partys history of
racial violence and intolerance. The BNP
benefitted from a low turn-out and widespread
public displeasure of the major parties in the
aftermath of the MPs expenses scandals.
Recession, unemployment and insecurity are the
classic breeding grounds for the Far Right. The
BNP are not a major force in Scotland. But, the
BNP have several local Councillors in England and
is becoming increasingly sophisticated in
portraying itself as a normal political party.
Not in My Name