Job discrimination faced by ethnic minority women at every level of recruitment

BBC News, The Guardian and the Daily Telegraph all reported last week on the All Party Parliamentary Group on Race and Community report on unemployment amongst ethnic minority women. The report, which looks specifically at women of Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage, follows a five-month inquiry into the issue, drawing on oral evidence sessions, focus groups and written submissions. The report finds that ethnic minority women face discrimination at every stage of the recruitment process and calls on the government to do more to tackle the obstacles.

Some of the key findings are summarised below.

•  According to the report, “unemployment rates of Black, Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage women have remained consistently higher than those of white women since the early 1980s”. It states that a focus on unemployment amongst ethnic minority men (13.2%) has detracted attention away from unemployment amongst ethnic minority women, which is higher at 14.3%. It finds that “Pakistani and Bangladeshi women are particularly affected, with 20.5% being unemployed compared to 6.8% of white women, with 17.7% of Black women also being unemployed.”

•  Discrimination is found to exist at every stage of the recruitment process with professors Anthony Heath and Yaojun Li estimating that “25% of the ethnic minority unemployment rate for both men and women could be explained by prejudice and racial discrimination.” This includes discrimination based on names, accents and appearance. The report cites research from the Department for Work and Pensions which found that “if you have an African or Asian sounding surname you need to send approximately twice as many job applications as those with a traditionally British name even to get an interview”.

•  The report identifies Muslim women who wear the hijab as victims of labour market discrimination. It cites research and oral evidence which confirms that women are more successful in their job search if they do not wear the hijab. One woman who gave evidence to the inquiry said that she “decided to stop wearing the hijab many years ago in order to help her get a job.” It adds that “the same group of women however stated that younger women were more likely to choose to wear the hijab, including those who were highly educated.”

•  Ethnic minority women face ‘dual discrimination’ on account of their gender and ethnicity. The report states that “all three ethnic groups reported questions asked about intentions regarding marriage and children.” The latter is “often tied to assumptions based on ethnicity– for example it was assumed that Muslim women would want to stop work after having children.” This would affect women’s chances of being offered a job.

•  Some cultural and religious practices disadvantage ethnic minority women, such as “convincing employers to allow time in the day for Muslim prayer”. One woman highlighted how “not drinking alcohol and not entering pubs can limit opportunities for Muslim women, as it means they are not ‘part of the mix’ at work network events.” The inquiry also found evidence of ethnic minority women ‘self-selecting’ themselves out of jobs from fear that they might not ‘fit in’.

•  Perceived cultural attitudes among women within ethnic minority cultures was found to be a persisting but lesser problem. For example, seeking permission from a husband before looking for or taking a job. Such cultural attitudes are far less significant amongst younger, British-born ethnic minority women, according to evidence given to the inquiry.

•  There was also evidence of demand for more culturally sensitive services. Analysis of current government policies found that “minority ethnic groups are less likely than white groups to find Job Centre Plus helpful, with women interviewed stating that there is a lack of adequate support for, and cultural understanding of, the needs of Pakistani and Bangladeshi women.” Some women were found to be putting-off language classes to improve their English “due to a preference for women-only classes and familiar community venues, as well as class times which do not clash with the school run.”

•  The report found a number of issues relating to qualifications, including evidence that ethnic minority women “are more likely to earn less than white women and have proportionally higher levels of unemployment” despite narrow disparities in education and qualifications.

•  The report found that “service providers, employers and the Government frequently dealt with women and ethnic minorities as separate entities and undertook little work or data monitoring on these two characteristics combined.”

•  The report dedicates a section to Somali women, who are often not accounted for as they are not “visibly captured in the statistical categories of Black/Black African.” Labour Force Survey data shows the level of employment among Somali women to be 10.23%. The report emphasises that for many women, their education was disrupted due to the civil war in Somalia with many women suffering from physical and psychological problems as a result of the conflict.

The report makes a number of recommendations to tackle the high levels of unemployment amongst ethnic minority women. Broadly, the government’s ‘colour blind’ approach is deemed to be problematic and targeted action to reduce unemployment is strongly recommended. Specific recommendations include better data monitoring to capture the extent of the problem; a government action plan to increase the take-up of blank name application forms; recommendations for JobCentre Plus and other services to pay attention to the culturally-specific needs of ethnic minority women; and the Cabinet Office to pay closer attention to Somali women and their extremely high rates of inactivity and disadvantage.

Although it has been the case for some time that Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities suffer from higher levels of socio-economic deprivation, the findings confirm much of what is known and researched in this area. An article by Professor David Blanchflower in the New Statesman in 2010 found that Muslim youth were amongst the worst hit by the recession, experiencing higher rates of unemployment than other like groups. The issue has been exacerbated across Europe particularly in relation to Muslim women, due to legislation and policies restricting religious dress and cultural symbols in the public sphere.

Speaking about the report, chair of the APPG on Race and Community, David Lammy MP, said that “All unemployment is tragi
c but we simply can no longer remain so casual about women that are simultaneously the victims of both sexism and racism when they are competing in the labour market. It has massive implications for families and society as a whole.

“Getting women into jobs is the best way to break families out of the poverty cycle so it is time for the government to make addressing this a priority.”

The full report is available here.