- Education: Children from ethnic-minority communities did as well or better than white pupils in compulsory education, with black Caribbean pupils being the only group to perform less well.
- Employment: This success in education has “transformed British society over the last 50 years into one offering far greater opportunities for all”.
- The pay gap between all ethnic minorities and the white majority population had shrunk to 2.3% overall and was barely significant for employees under the age of 30.
- Diversity has increased in major professions such as law and medicine. This achievement is hailed such a success that the report recommends getting rid of unconscious bias training.
- Crime and Policing: There was more of a focus on policing where the report widely encourages currently used police tactics including stop and search.
- The report encourages the diversification of police forces to better represent their communities.
- Health: Suggested the creation of Office for Health Disparities to better consider race impacts health outcomes and life expectancy.
- Institutional Racism: The report stated that other things such as geography, family influence, socio-economic background, culture and religion have a greater impact than race; stating it is an overused idea especially in areas where there is no evidence to support it. They reported there are some examples of institutional racism but encourages campaigners to prove them before making claims.
President of the PDA BAME Committee, Elsy Gomez Campos said: “As I saw it, the message was not only ill-informed but was also non-progressive and definitely stereotyping of some ethnic minority groups. If the authors of the report were seeking to anger us, they did a marvellous job.
As a UK black citizen, I see the evidence of institutionalised racism every day. It presents the disproportionate number of non-white NHS staff that have died during the COVID-19 Pandemic. I see the evidence when the data shows that black women are more likely to die during childbirth than white pregnant women. The evidence on the criminal system where black people in England and Wales are more likely to be imprisoned than their white peers. And what about the fact that white working-class boys with less educational qualifications have better job prospects of employment and social status than people of an ethnic minority? I could go on citing evidence of institutionalised racism that sees non-white citizens, especially blacks, driven into a life of poverty and denied opportunities.
Racial discrimination is a public health issue and the report seems to ignore the overwhelming evidence that speaks volumes about its consequences and how it manifests in organisations and society. For that reason, now more than ever, we need to be more vocal and more courageous about denouncing acts of racial discrimination and the social injustice that is attached to it. We need to make the evidence count by speaking up, actively being anti-racists and by being better allies of those facing racial discrimination.”
PDA BAME Network Coodinator, Manuella Asso stated: “Considering this is the seventh major report in 4 years all of which have highlighted institutional discrepancies for ethnic minority groups in the past, I am astounded that our government has concluded that structural racism does not exist in our society. The report gave glowing reviews to our education system citing that ethnic minority pupils perform similarly or even better than their white counterparts.
However the Guardian reported that figures actually paint a starkly contrasting picture with over 60,000 racial incidents in schools in the past five years. Additionally, while the report praised our policing measures, it failed to provide answers or even acknowledge reports that show that black people are nine times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people.
I cannot deny the experiences of those responsible for writing this report, they may well have seen significant positive changes in their society. However, I cannot ignore the reality we currently face. Instead of giving ethnic minority groups hope for a better and fairer future, this report casts uncertainty and fear of what lies ahead by underplaying and almost denying the prejudice we face every day.”
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