According to the Resolution Foundation, black, Asian or minority-ethnic (BAME) graduates are less likely to be employed than their white counterparts.
A recent report by the Resolution Foundation analysed the current situation on racial employability disparity in Britain.
The report comes after Theresa May ordered an audit of public service to reveal racial inequalities in a series of different matters such as education, employment, and health.
The prime minister said that “the government I lead will stand up” against “injustice and inequality”, while proposing to shine a light on the subject and, subsequently, act upon the audit’s findings.
“BAME individuals still face payment inequality when compared to white people”
Kathleen Henehan, a policy analyst for the Resolution Foundation, states that “[g]raduates from a black and ethnic minority background still face significant employment and pay penalties in the workforce.”
Henehan explains how, even when given the opportunity to work, BAME individuals still face payment inequality when compared to white people.
SU BME Officers, Florence Nwude and Adreanna Halliman, told Impact that they are aware that there is a “lack of cultural understandings” when it comes to employability in the workforce. They go on to mention that they are “working with [a] lot of recruiters to host BME career events.” In these events, they are hoping to get a better understanding of why firms are “not getting a lot of BME graduates and why people [feel] deterr[ed] from [these] industries.”
“The disparity in pay and opportunities has been around for decades”
Despite the increase in the percentage of BAME workers with degrees in the past 20 years in Britain, there are still huge gaps between black and ethnic minority graduates and their white peers when it comes to unemployment and pay rates.
Bangladeshi and Pakistani graduates, for example, are approximately 12% less likely to be employed than white British graduates, and black graduate workers earn, on average, 23,1% less than white workers.
Jessica Obimbo, a second-year Law student, told Impact: “This doesn’t surprise me. The disparity in pay and opportunities has been around for decades. Despite the small improvements that we’ve witnessed in the past years, there is still a long way to go in achieving equality.”
Leonor Moniz and Rita Faria Figueiras
Featured image courtesy of ‘Vu Hoang’ via Flickr. License here.
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