NEWSHOUND ARCHIVE - 7th July 2010

Ethnic minorities are still seriously under represented in the top professions

MyDiversity.com has highlighted a new report by pressure group Business in the Community which has found 'blatant and shocking' racism within some of the highest-paid professions. The report states that, “law, politics and the media in particular are considered closed shops by ethnic minority candidates. 44% of those taking part said that politics wasn’t for them either and half took a dim view of the armed forces.”

When former communities secretary John Denham said earlier this year that society is more comfortable with racial diversity than ever before, the UK gave itself a congratulatory slap on the back, but research out this week suggests there’s much more work to be done: ethnic minorities apparently still feel doors are closed to them in some of the UK’s top professions.

That said, the report points out that some of the reasons why certain professions are considered closed seem to be about attitudes and perceptions as much as actual racism. For instance, a third of those who didn’t apply to the armed forces said it was because their family wouldn’t approve. Equally, some of those who suggest professions like law are closed shops just aren’t even trying: a third of respondents decided it was too ‘hard’ to get a job in the media, and a quarter said the same about becoming a lawyer.

The authors accept that many big employers have taken ‘great strides’ to rid themselves of racism – and it’s surely true that overt racism in the workplace is now much less common than it’s ever been - but some of the UK’s biggest employers have still not convinced ethnic minority candidates that they’ve changed sufficiently, possibly because of the lack of senior
role models in these professions.

www.mydiversity.com