Research from Youth Futures Foundation, who are currently funding ARE’s work to tackle employment disparities through our Building Ethnic Diversity Programme, has found that almost half of young people from an ethnic minority background have experienced prejudice or discrimination when seeking to enter the workplace.
The study, carried out with 3,250 young people, found seven in ten (70%) young people who have faced discrimination have considered moving jobs, with the majority of young people thinking that reporting discrimination won’t make any difference.
A further two-thirds (66%) have overheard a co-worker or supervisor say racist slurs or make racist jokes, while one in five (20%) have also been referred to in a derogatory manner by colleagues, according to the research.
Action for Race Equality supports the publication of the ‘Discrimination and Work’ report which again, sadly provides robust evidence that racial discrimination is a systemic problem and requires systemic solutions.
Its recommendations should be implemented as a matter of urgency by employers and government.
Jeremy Crook OBE, Chief Executive of ARE commented:
ARE was formed over thirty years ago to tackle race disparities in the labour market. There have been numerous reports calling for more action to combat the racism faced by young Black, Asian and Mixed heritage young people. We believe the negative environment that has recently been fostered around ‘anti-wokeism’ and ‘cancel-culture’ are exacerbating racism and discrimination and having a detrimental impact on ethnic minority young people’s mental health.”
“Nearly half of the respondents of the Youth Futures’ new reported experencing racial discrimination when entering the workforce and suffering emotional distress as a consequence. ARE believes it is time schools, colleges and universities to wake up to this reality, and start equipping ethnic minority young people with the practical tools to deal with the impact of racial discrimination in the workplace, and where to seek help and support to help these young people navigate through these issues with confidence.
In 2023, the government published their new ‘Positive action in the workplace guidance’ for employers. However, little has been done to promote it across national employer bodies and all large employers receiving public sector contracts.
ARE would like to see the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentre Plus to boost their youth offer with a sharper focus on supporting ethnic minority young people navigate the barriers they face because of race discrimination in employment.
It is also clear more needs to be done with employers to stamp out racism and build inclusive workplaces.”
The findings come as the latest Census data shows almost a quarter of the UK’s population below the age of 25 are now from an ethnic minority background, and the latest ONS figures reveal there are 851,000 people aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment or training (12%).
To find out more, watch the following video or read the report in full on the Youth Futures Foundation website.
If you’re an employer, looking to use Positive Action to tackle race disparities within your own workforce, check out our Positive Action Guide, created in consultation with a dedicated team of employer champions.
