How the Ethnic Penalty shapes UK’s Professional Landscape
By Gitali Bansal, Marketing and Research Intern
Before focusing on career progression for ethnic minorities, let’s consider the ethnic penalty in the UK. It refers to the extent of disadvantages faced by ethnic minority groups compared to the native-born community of the same age, education, and experience.
Some of the reasons why some first-generation ethnic minorities in the UK face challenges can be a lack of fluency in the English language, foreign qualifications, foreign experience in the labour market, and non-transferable human capital. But this is different for the second generation. They are likely to be fluent in English and have similar access to career opportunities and education as the native population. However, the first generation’s difficulties, such as discrimination, a lack of investment in human capital due to lower returns, resignation to adaptation, and conformity to lower class norms and values, tend to leave a legacy for the second generation.
Educational Challenges
Steve Strand’s 2012 article talks about the classification of students into tiers for Maths and Science, where fewer students from Black Caribbean, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Black African groups were entered into high-tier exams than British children and vice versa. This did not showcase discrimination against students from ethnic minorities by teachers; instead, it reflected the lower levels of attainment or higher levels of poverty in this group.
According to Bolton and Lewis (2024), Black students are more likely to drop out from higher education than other ethnic groups and least likely to acquire a first- or upper-second-class degree. Subject choices also factor in when assessing differences in graduate earnings by minority groups. According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, Asian students tend to choose more ‘high-return subjects’ than their Black and White peers.
Employment Disparities
Coming to unemployment, Black graduates are likely to send 60% more job applications than their white counterparts before receiving a positive response and are likely to have spent twice the time unemployed (Hammarling, 2019).
There was a 144% increase in the number of BME workers in insecure work (zero-hour contracts, low-paid self-employment, and seasonal/casual work) from the year 2011 to 2023, showcasing the increasing ‘structural racism’ in the sector (T Nichols, 2024). Taking up insecure work eventually leads to these ethnic minorities being underpaid with a substantial pay gap as well as stands as a barrier in their career progression.
When analysing the multi-marginalised section- gender and ethnicity, Sir John Parker’s 2016 report on ethnic minorities in the UK highlighted that the emphasis on gender equality in the boardroom did not benefit women of colour to the same extent as it did their White counterparts. Women of colour face multiple layers of challenges regarding career progression, making it tougher for them to navigate opportunities.
The Need for Representation
Due to the lack of representation in senior management, individuals from ethnic minorities face a disadvantage in terms of mentorship that they require to progress further in their careers.
Adopting Reverse Mentoring schemes, where companies can pair more senior white employees with employees belonging to ethnic minorities in junior roles as mentors, can really help them understand the perspective of these employees. This will be beneficial, as an initiative to learn comes from the higher levels and ultimately aims at creating a more diverse senior management for the future. For instance, by implementing the reverse mentoring scheme, we assisted Waltham Forest Council in fostering an uptake in conversations around racism, equity, diversity, and inclusion in employees’ and leaders’ daily interactions. This initiative also aided leaders in identifying issues and devising solutions.
Another practical step for employers is to review their hiring system and adopt a more transparent process when recruiting candidates. Often, training managers to overcome biases goes a long way toward making hiring processes fair.
As we celebrate Black History Month, it’s essential to pause and reflect on the obstacles that ethnic minorities, especially Black individuals, encounter in the UK workforce. This month is about honouring the historical achievements and contributions of Black people, but it’s also a critical time to highlight their ongoing struggle for equality. By tackling issues such as the ethnic penalty and discrimination against ethnic minorities, we strive to work for a future where opportunities are genuinely equal for all, irrespective of their ethnic background.