Aspiration & Frustration

Ethnic minorities living and working in Britain consider professions including banking, politics, law and journalism, as closed off to them. The Race for Opportunity report Aspiration and Frustration is an in-depth survey of the attitudes of 1,500 people from all the main ethnic groups living in the UK, including white Britons. It investigates how different ethnic groups view their prospects of employment and promotion and reveals shockingly that racism is still prevalent in the workplace.

The challenge is to ensure that for ethnic minority 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 report shows that despite ethnic minorities having a strong work ethic and high career aspirations, more so than white Britons, many rule out careers in the professions because of perceptions of racism. The study showed that no profession was seen as devoid of racism. The police, despite considerable effort spent wooing ethnic minorities, is still regarded as deeply racist: close to half of all respondents, including white Britons, subscribe to this view, rising to 72% for Black Caribbeans. Similarly, over a fifth of Black Caribbeans consider the media and legal industries to be either subtly or overtly racist.  Worryingly, more than a quarter cited politics as another problem area, rising to 30% when white respondents were excluded and 39% for the Black Caribbean group.

“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 see as truly equal opportunity employers” said Sandra Kerr, National Campaign Director, Race for Opportunity.