Poverty and Ethnicity

Tackling poverty effectively across all ethnicities

Helen Barnard 23rd November 2012

Poverty and Ethnicity – the big picture

• Poverty higher for all ethnic minority groups than for White British people

• But varies between ethnic groups

Poverty and Ethnicity

Poverty rates by ethnicity

Poverty and Ethnicity – the big picture (2)

• Great variations – Across different ethnic groups and sub-groups– Men and women– Age and generation– Disability

• Considerable inequality within groups• More than between them

– Particularly high inequality among ‘Chinese’, ‘African’ and Indian groups

– PLACE: The same groups do very differently in different places• Education, labour markets, care provision, other services• Who’s there

– History – Qualification levels– Job types: sector and level

Poverty and Ethnicity

Key factors driving poverty - and influenced by ethnicity

• Education

• Employment

• Caring

Poverty and Ethnicity

Education (1)

• Ethnicity, socio-economic status and gender affect education most

• Socio-ec status = biggest driver (effect is 3 times greater than ethnicity)

• Varies greatly by age, stage + school and area

• Primary school

– Indian, Bangladeshi & Chinese children’s attainment lower at start

– But progress varies: Indian & Chinese pupils make most progress

– Poorer progress among Black and low income white pupils

• Secondary school

– Decline in achievement of black Caribbean students

• Evidence of issues around teacher expectations

– Indian and Chinese pupils get best results

– Black African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi students also have higher results than equivalent White British pupils

– Young Travellers have lowest achievement

Poverty and Ethnicity

Education (2)

• Education after 16

– Young people from ethnic minority groups + poorer backgrounds more likely to go to FE colleges than 6th forms

• Affects access to university, degree attainment and labour market outcomes

– Low take up of apprenticeships and vocational qualifications among many minority ethnic groups + poor progression

– Many minority ethnic groups over-represented in higher education

• Except black Caribbean men

• White men from low income backgrounds also under-represented

– Differences in value of degrees in labour market

• Disadvantages many minority ethnic students

• Institution, subject, attainment and route into university

Poverty and Ethnicity

Employment

• Work as a route out of poverty isn’t equally effective across groups

• Several reasons

– First, different levels of unemployment and inactivity

• Higher unemployment among all ethnic minority groups

Poverty and Ethnicity

Unemployment rates

Poverty and Ethnicity

Employment (2)

– Second, differences in amounts of work

• Levels of part time work and self employment

• Sustainability and progression

Poverty and Ethnicity

Poverty and Ethnicity

Employment (3)

• Third, different levels of pay

• Lower pay for people from many minority groups– Despite higher qualifications in some cases– Pay gap partly due to working in different sectors

and job types– But also when doing equivalent jobs

Poverty and Ethnicity

Hourly pay gaps by ethnicity and gender

• Compared to White British men many groups earn less per hour– Pakistani men earn 22.9% less– Bangladeshi men 20.9% – Black African men 17.8%

– Indian women 14.3%– Pakistani women 25.7%– Black Caribbean women 13.9%– Chinese women 9.4%

Poverty and Ethnicity

Poverty and Ethnicity

Employment (4)

• In-work poverty– Types of jobs people get: sectors and levels – Working below qualification level, part time work and self-

employment– Retention and progression

• Interaction between decisions made by job seekers and employees and employers’ attitudes and behaviour

• Recruitment, pay, flexibility, training, promotion, retention, culture • Big variations by size of employer, sector, location, workforce

diversity• Discrimination• Workplace culture• Need to look at ethnicity alongside gender, age, disability etc.

Poverty and Ethnicity

Caring (1)

• Families need enough income to be out of poverty and to care for children and adults appropriately

• Ethnicity important in relation to:– Women’s employment: education, occupation,

‘choices’ about work and care– Attitudes towards unpaid caring and professional

care– Social capital, support networks and resources– Care provision: cultural sensitivity and awareness

Caring (2)

• Little detailed evidence for many ethnic groups• Some general patterns• Demand for care: numbers and type

– Children: Bangladeshi and Pakistani families tend to be bigger and start earlier

– Poor health among Bangladeshi and Pakistani women + older people

– More long-standing illness among some other minority ethnic groups

– New migrants less likely to have dependents

Caring (3)

• Patterns changing fast

– Rising numbers older people among previously ‘young’ groups

• E.g. projections for Birmingham: by 2026 nearly 3 x Bangladeshis over 65, 5 x Africans over 65, fewer white people over 65

– Declining numbers of children in South Asian families

Poverty and Ethnicity

Caring (4)

• Trade offs between caring and earning– Work available is crucial

• Do jobs pay enough for formal care? • Low paid work can lack the flexibility carers

need– Care provision

• Distribution of care services and jobs very variable

• Can have major effect on attitudes to using paid for care

• Resistance often focused on specific concerns about what is available

Poverty and Ethnicity

Conclusion

• Differences between ethnic groups – Including white minorities, small groups, new groups

• Diversity within ethnic groups• Other factors also important: gender, age, disability, religion• Variations between the same group in different places• Dos and don’ts

– Avoid white/non-white analysis where-ever possible– Don’t rely on national patterns– Be sceptical of broad brush assumptions – Find out who is in each area in as much detail as

possible– Explore work patterns, qualification levels, job clustering – Understand specific opportunities and barriers

Poverty and Ethnicity

Coming soon from JRF

• Current major research projects: to be published early 2013

– Employer behaviour, workplace culture and progression

– Local labour markets

– Caring and earning

– Social networks

– Northern Ireland

– Wales

Poverty and Ethnicity