Minorities more likely than ‘white British’ to be in top jobs

ETHNIC minorities are now more likely to fill elite roles than those classified as ‘white British’, research reveals.

An analysis of 2011 census data shows that 10.3 per cent of minorities are in class 1 roles, which includes occupations such as doctors, lawyers and civil servants. In contrast, 9.8 per cent of white Britons hold professional and managerial roles.

But not all ethnic groups have the same success rate. People of Indian origin performed the best, with 15.4 per cent found in class 1 of eight occupational groups, followed by those of Chinese origin (12.8 per cent). And men from these two groups are almost twice as likely as white Britons to be in higher managerial jobs.

In contrast, just 6.6 per cent of Pakistanis and 4.2 per cent of Bangladeshis were found to be in class 1 roles. Instead, almost half of Bangladeshi men worked in restaurants and a quarter of Pakistani men were taxi drivers. Meanwhile, 7.5 per cent of black Africans, 6.2 per cent of Caribbeans, and 10.3 per cent of those of mixed race were in class 1 roles. Trevor Phillips, the former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the statistics told a ‘good story about modern Britain... and that diversity is actually adding to our stock of talent’.

He told the Sunday Times: ‘Some groups seem, either because of other people’s attitudes or their own failure, to be stuck for generation after generation.’

Non-whites make up 41 per cent of doctors, and minorities also do well in the City, with Indians making up 12.3 per cent of workers, according to the study by Demos Integration Hub.

But although more than a fifth of solicitors are non-white, only 10.9 per cent of barristers and 5.3 per cent of QCs are from minority backgrounds. Similarly, non-whites make up 9.6 per cent of those in the civil service, but they hold only 5 per cent of senior positions.

Ethnic minorities make up 7.1 per cent of the Armed Forces but only 2.4 per cent of officers. Just 6.4 per cent of the top 20 jobs in FTSE 100 companies, and 6.6 per cent of head teacher posts, are held by non-whites.