equality and diversity in work place 1000worda
angella123
Week3.pptxTimes change
Statue of Edward Colston, Bristol, stood 1895 - 2020
Statue of Jen Reid, Bristol, stood 15-16.7.2020
Overview of online lecture session
Segment 1: ‘Race’, ‘ethnicity’ and migration: some key terms, distinctions and definitions
Segment 2: Ethnicity, immigration and the UK workplace
The public policy and legislative context – immigration control and ‘race relations’
employment and labour market context
Segment 3: Explanations and solutions for managing ethnic disadvantage
Select reading and references, 1
Balch, A. (2016) Tightening the grip: The Coalition Government and migrant workers, in S. Williams and P. Scott (eds), Employment Relations under Coalition Government: the UK experience 2010-2015, New York, Routledge, 144-164.
Byrne, B. et al (2020) Ethnicity, Race and Inequality in the UK, Bristol, Policy Press.
Castles, S. (2014) The Age of Migration, 5th ed., Basingstoke, Palgrave.
CIPD (2017) Addressing the Barriers to BAME Employee Career Progression to the Top, London, CIPD.
Clark, K. and Drinkwater, S. (2007) Ethnic Minorities in the Labour Market, Bristol, Policy Press.
Cohen, B. (2019) The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report: 20 Years on, London, The Runnymede Trust.
Select reading and references, 2
Di Stasio, V. and Heath, A. (2019) Are employers in Britain discriminating against ethnic minorities?, Briefing Note, Utrecht, Horizon 2020.
McGregor-Smith, R. (2017) Race in the Workplace (The McGregor-Smith Review), London, Luminous.
Mason, D. (2013) Ethnicity, in G. Payne (ed) Social Divisions, 3rd ed., Basingstoke, Palgrave, ch. 4.
Ogbonna, E. (2019) The uneasy alliance of organisational culture and equal opportunities for ethnic minority groups: a British example, Human Resource Management Journal, 29, 309-327.
Pilkington, A. (2002) Racial Disadvantage and Ethnic Diversity in Britain, Basingstoke, Palgrave.
TEXTBOOKS: See especially ch.5 in Syed , J. and Ozgilbin, M. (2019) Managing Diversity and Inclusion, 2nd ed.
‘Race’ and ethnicity
Sometimes used interchangeably, but…
‘Race’: biological / genetic. De Gobineau – Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races (1853), claims there are 3 physical ‘races’
Ethnicity: social / cultural differences, shared cultural heritage, ‘common origins’, learned differences
Racism (‘old’ and ‘new’)
Implies not just ‘difference’, but superiority / inferiority
‘Old’ racism. Based upon ‘racial’ differences. Bound up with slavery and colonialism
‘New’ racism (Barker). Emphasises cultural / ethnic differences between groups that are deemed to be socially significant (and insurmountable)
Traditional migration patterns
Host country seeks labour; migrant seeks economic betterment. Various levels of citizenship, welfare and social rights granted to minorities; varying degrees of assimilation and segregation
Classical – immigrants as future citizens (USA, Canada, Australia; partially reflected in EU citizenship and idea of free movement of labour within EU)
Colonial – e.g. France, UK to 1960s, Netherlands (‘we are here because you were there’)
‘Guest worker’ – e.g. West Germany pre-EU expansion
Illegal – low-skilled work or slavery. ‘Illegal’ workers often semi-tolerated, depending on state of the labour market (e.g. amnesties in USA under various Presidents)
This segment covers two aspects:
The public policy and legislative context – the uneasy coexistence of immigration control and ‘race relations’
The employment and labour market context
2.i. UK. Policy context. Race and ethnicity as a UK policy issue: ‘plus ça change…’
An issue since the 13th century. Related to concern about particular groups, e.g. Aliens Act 1905
Slavery, colonialism and imperialism…
Post-1945 – labour shortages; successive in-migration from Caribbean (Windrush), then Asian sub-continent, often initially single male
An election issue 1964 onwards
UK official policy: ‘immigration control’ and ‘race relations’
‘successive British governments have pursued a two-pronged strategy. This has involved, on the one hand, increasingly restrictive immigration controls and, on the other hand, measures designed to combat racial disadvantage and integrate minority groups who have settled in the country. The two prongs rest on contrary principles, with the first presaged (in practice) on racist assumptions and the second on liberal assumptions.’ Andrew Pilkington, Racial Disadvantage and Ethnic Diversity in Britain, p. 9.
‘Race relations’, integration and equality in the UK
Race Relations Acts 1965, 1968, 1976 (amended 2000: introduction of Race Equality Duty - shift to proactive and preventative approach in public sector). EU Race Equality Directive 2000.
Equality Act 2010, and ethnicity incorporated into general Public Sector Equality Duty.
Positive discrimination unlawful in UK (not in US, although controversial)
Differential rates of population growth between ethnic groups settled in UK
Distribution of ethnic groups between localities very uneven (reflects past and present settlement patterns)
Immigration control and the labour market
Restrictive immigration and nationality Acts, 1962 onwards
1993 Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act – focus of concern switches to ‘new migration’ (globalised migration, inc. asylum seekers and refugees)
Work permit system, then tiers of immigrant categories
2004 and 2007 EU accession expansions.
Recent public policy issues, as they affect the labour market
Post-2010: the ‘hostile environment’ and ‘reducing net immigration to the tens of thousands’
Tightening of controls and legislation on illegal working. Much monitoring of right to work transferred to employers (2016 Immigration Act).
Criminalisation of both i) employers and ii) suspected migrants’ right to be working in UK
Windrush / Black Lives Matter
Post-Brexit immigration system 2021-
Migration Advisory Committee report, 28 Jan 2020
Points-based system, dependent on skill levels. Cf. Australia
Minimum earnings threshold. Currently set at £25,600 p.a. for non-EU nationals.
Sponsors, skilled workers only.
2.ii. Ethnic minorities in the UK labour market, I
Basic contours are well-known and fairly stable (see e.g. Race Disparity Audit,(2017, ch. 5)
Considerable differences between different ethnic groups in:
employment and unemployment rates,
and economic fortunes
Less likely to be economically active (in work or seeking work), especially women
Ethnic minorities in the UK labour market, II
As with gender (although patterns are different): horizontal and vertical job segregation
Employment of some ethnic groups disproportionately concentrated in declining sectors or low-skill labour-intensive sectors.
Disproportionate representation in ZHC and gig economy jobs
High levels of ethnic self-employment as a response to discrimination
3. Explanations and solutions for ethnic disadvantage. Overview.
Individualist versus structural interpretations
What can, or should organisations do in response? E.g. Ogbonna (2019) analyses how organisational cultures perpetuate discrimination
What can, or should government do in response? E.g. consultation on whether to extend gender pay gap reporting to ethnicity too; use of local labour clauses in government procurement contracts
Explanations and solutions for ethnic disadvantage. Liberal approach
Diversity approaches – accommodation to individual difference. Training – diversity awareness, etc. Formation of multi-cultural teams. Some evidence of success from such diversity management practices.
Reviews, reviews…
‘Business case’ arguments well set out in 2017 McGregor-Smith Review.
Yet another Government Commission on Racial Inequalities announced 2020
Explanations and solutions for ethnic disadvantage. Structural approach
Repeated statistical studies of employment rates or pay show ethnic differences that can only be accounted for by discrimination, after all other likely factors have been taken into account
Discrimination in recruitment: CV experimental studies. E.g.
Weichselbaumer (2016): job applicants with German or Turkish names and wearing headscarves
GEMM cross-national project.
Economic disadvantage still evident among second-generation immigrant groups
Weichselbaumer sent out job applications with pictures of three fictitious female characters with identical qualifications. One applicant had a German name, one a Turkish name, and the third had a Turkish name and wore a headscarf.
The applicant with the German name was called back 19% of the time, the one with a Turkish name 14% and the candidate with a Turkish name who wore a headscarf, just 4%.
19
Structural explanations: institutional racism
The controversial idea of ‘institutional racism’
‘Systematic failure’ subconsciously embedded in structures of institutions / society
Frequently invoked in relation to explaining alleged discrimination by public authorities:
ethnic minorities in armed forces;
Ibrahami case, Safer Bristol Partnership review, 2017;
Kensington & Chelsea Council & Grenfell Tower
Williams Review of the Home Office and the Windrush scandal.
However, most well-known usage in UK from the Stephen Lawrence murder and subsequent Macpherson Inquiry
Macpherson Report
‘45.6 It soon became apparent that a narrow interpretation of our terms of reference would have been pointless and counterproductive. Wherever we went we were met with inescapable evidence which highlighted the lack of trust which exists between the police and the minority ethnic communities’
46.1 ‘The investigation was marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership by senior officers.’
Institutional racism
6.34. ‘The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin.’
‘Processes, attitudes, and behaviour which amount to discrimination’
Structural solutions
May require more radical interventions
Positive discrimination / ‘affirmative action’ / quotas? Used in US, esp. since 1964 Civil Rights Act. Political acceptability? Capable of achieving the desired results?
Similar initiatives: ‘local labour’ clauses
Overall concluding remarks
Long-standing historical issue, which keeps changing in form
Difficult to argue against evidence of entrenched discrimination, albeit uneven
Political – rather than organisational – proposed solutions have become increasingly radical, but also subject to resistance
Need to think about the extent ethnic disadvantage originates from factors in wider society or from factors within organisations
