Minorities are flourishing but we can still do more to tackle racism, says report
BRITAIN should be seen “as a model for other white-majority countries” but racism still exists, says a landmark report today.
The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) said children from some minority communities often outperform white pupils.
And the aspirations that help them flourish at school and college also create fairer and more diverse workplaces.
However, the commission also concluded there was still more to be done, saying the UK was not yet “a post-racial society”.
Opportunities
It said “overt and outright racism persists”, particularly online.
The 264-page report into how ethnic minorities have flourished over 50 years was commissioned by the Government, after the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, to examine inequalities within education, employment, the justice system and in health.
Members concluded the hard work of many communities has transformed society and offered greater opportunities for all.
The report states: “Education is the single most emphatic success”, noting the average GCSE achievements of Indian, Bangladeshi and Black African pupils beatWhite British levels.
The authors challenge the view that the UK has failed to tackle racial issues, suggesting the wellmeaning “idealism” of youngsters who claim it is still institutionally racist is not borne out.
While there are still problems at the top of both public and private sectors, the picture has improved with increasing diversity in professions such as law and medicine.
The report notes the pay gap between all minorities and the white majority has shrunk to 2.3 per cent. There was no significant difference for under-30s in 2019.
It also says issues around racism are becoming less important. Different outcomes had as much to do with social class and family structure as with race.
The report states: “Most of the disparities we examined, which some attribute to racial discrimination, often do not have their origins in racism.”
The commission highlights a
growing gulf in educational achievement between Black Africans and Black Caribbeans.
Analysis for CRED found in 2019’s GCSEs, Black Caribbeans were the only ethnic group faring worse thanWhite British pupils.
The proportion of children from a Black Caribbean background gaining A* to C in English and maths was 50.3 per cent – but 61.8 per cent for White British pupils and 62.7 per cent for Black African youngsters.
The commission says that as differences between groups are now at least as important as what they have in common, the acronym BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) is “of limited value” and should no longer be used.
It makes 24 recommendations, including research into what drives “high-performing pupils’ communities” to see what can be replicated elsewhere, plus the phasingin of longer school days, starting in disadvantaged areas.
The commission highlighted how disadvantaged pupils were falling behind after months of home schooling during the pandemic. It also calls for organisations “to move away from funding unconscious bias training”.
Educational consultant Dr Tony Sewell, its chairman, said: “If these recommendations are implemented, it will give a further burst of momentum to the story of our country’s progress to a successful multi-ethnic and multicultural community – a beacon to the rest of Europe and the world.”