Yes, there IS racism …but inequality harms people of every colour
IF you are sick of race commissions, this is exactly why you should care about this one.
Do you long for the day we stop banging on about race and focus on fairness for all? Are you an ethnic minority member who just wants equal opportunities instead of empty words, or are you tired of being told you have privilege and racism running through you just because you are white?
If, like me, you answer yes to any of these questions, then the newly released report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED for short) is just for you.
I can almost hear the mass rolling of eyeballs as I write this, from people who will have been watching the news to discover that the CRED — established by the Prime Minister last summer in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests worldwide — has published “yet another race report”.
“Another stick to bash Britain over the head with,” many will say with a sigh.
“Another report declaring institutional racism is to blame for all of Britain’s ills.”
WHO WAS AND WASN’T DOING WELL IN BRITAIN
I can assure you this is a report like never before. And I can confidently do that because I have committed nine months of my life to ensuring that this commission, unlike its predecessors, delves deep into the complex causes for why disparities exist.
The Commission is the first to give equal weight to all ethnicities. What we cared about when we looked at the data was who was and wasn’t doing so well in Britain. Where it was ethnic minorities doing better than white people, we weren’t afraid to say so. Where it was the other way round, we made that clear.
Let’s get something important out of the way. Anyone who denies there are disparities between people from ethnic minority groups and white groups is as guilty of making lazy generalisations as those who declare that Britain is racist.
Our report found a complex picture when it comes to ethnicity and disadvantage.
In education, we commissioned new research from the University of Oxford which proved that most ethnic minority kids achieve as well, if not higher, than white kids of the same social class.
However, we found that poor white kids have some of the worst levels of educational attainment at GCSE, along with their black Caribbean peers. In the employment space, we found that the pay gap between all ethnic minority and white individuals has shrunk to 2.3 per cent, the lowest in about a decade.
However, ethnic minorities who wanted to start their own business report having a harder time than white people getting funding.
We found that the diversity and inclusion industry, which has been pushing “unconscious bias training” has not been shown to provide any clear results that are helpful to anyone.
Health was also not a black and white picture. In some cases, the white population has better outcomes than ethnic minorities, in other cases it is the opposite.
When we looked at crime, we found some particularly shocking findings.
For every one young white person sadly killed, there are 24 black victims. That’s more than an average secondary school classroom. A disparity that is a national scandal, surely.
The full 258-page report is a thorough, evidence-led look at all the complexities of ethnic disparities in Britain. And you can be sure it’s not riddled with ideology and identity politics.
We acknowledge that no one ethnic group is immune to disadvantage, and we are not afraid to say that this includes white ethnic groups.
The Commission, chaired by former teacher and education expert Dr Tony Sewell, has made 24 recommendations to the Government.
Among these are the targeting of funding for disadvantaged pupils, with a strong focus on geographical variation, ethnic disparity and socio-economic status.
We also call for the establishment of an Office for Health Disparities, a body independent from the NHS, dedicated to research around health inequalities across the UK, a first of its kind and very needed in a post-Covid-19 world.
On top of this, we want the Government to undertake a “support for families” review so we can properly understand what makes families thrive and provide support for those most at risk of disadvantage.
We also want police forces to represent the communities they serve.
That’s why we have called for a minimum standard framework that allows community groups to scrutinise and problem-solve issues in their community alongside the police.
Up until now, the conversation on racial disparities has been dominated by blanket generalisations about what causes disparities and who is most affected by disadvantage.
Our report is the first of its kind to offer up a vision for change that properly recognises that disparities are complex and that disadvantage is not limited to non-white people.
The Commission will no doubt be accused of “denying racism”.
To make it clear: We do not.
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We believe the factors that drive disparities and disadvantage stretch far beyond racism and affect people of all colours. That is why our recommendations are not limited to any one particular race.
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There are recommendations that help everyone, whether you are a deprived white kid in Blackpool, an Asian family in Birmingham or a black community from Brent.
If you want a future where the focus is on fairness and opportunity for all, not on the skin colours that distinguish us, this is the race review for you.
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