Essay on Racial Discrimination BME Face in the UK Job Market

For several centuries, unemployment rates among the blacks and minority groups in the United Kingdom have remained high. However, latest studies show that the figures continue to rise. For instance, between 2012 and 2013, the levels of unemployment for the entire residents of the United Kingdom and the white ethnics relatively remained constant at 8 and 7 percent respectively. However, the same study indicates that during this period, ethnic minority groups experienced higher levels of unemployment that rose from 13% to 14% CITATION Din12 \l 1033 (Rickman). The study stresses that the increase in unemployment was noticeable among the blacks and minority ethnic groups. Empirical studies indicate that some of the related challenges that blacks and minority groups undergo include unemployment and poverty. According to the "Equality and Human Rights Commission" report, blacks and minority ethnic workers continue to experience systemic discrimination in the UKs labor market (Merrick). Therefore, this paper will explore the overall multiculturalism in the Europe and its influence on the welfare of the blacks and minority ethnics, the struggles the BME communities face and suggest solutions for avoiding discrimination in the place of work.

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The world continues to experience inexorable expansion for the urban population since the end of the World War II. Some of the regions across the world such as Western Europe and North America began to experience an unprecedented expansion of urban population after 1945 CITATION The15 \l 1033 (The Morning Star). The rapid population increase in the cities increased strains on resources such as environment and educational services. The continual rise in the urban population mainly results due to globalization, which leads to greater connectivity between territories, people, and close cooperation in the political, social and economic and cultural association between diverse regions across the globe CITATION San15 \l 1033 (Kerr). The role played by cities as a magnet for the global human traffic, capital, information and goods is not subject to debate.

However, the various changes occurring during the previous decades reflect the developments and the problems outlined at the onset of this study. The European hotspots experienced prosperity as a result of the unprecedented growth of the global service sector, particularly in the media, business and financial sectors and technology and tourism (Miller). However, to enhance the prosperity of these areas, the composition of labor in these industries comprised highly educated, well-paid and relatively secure elites, and relatively uneducated, poorly paid, insecure workers. The phenomena also resulted from the expansion of white collar labor force between the two extremes. Although most of the people employed in these sectors comprised indigenes, substantial number emanated from migrant backgrounds, which was common in the major cities such as Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Milan, and London.

Therefore, although most scholars converge on the importance of immigration had in the development of nations, the subject usually provoke heated debates in the contemporary society. The issue creates division among people on two distinct lines; those purporting that it creates richer communities, both financially and culturally and the group that feels that immigration drains the society on public funds and therefore creating tension and mistrust. However, during the Labor Party Conference roundtable meeting held in autumn, the main subject of discussion was the real and imagined challenges of an ethnically diverse United Kingdom CITATION Din12 \l 1033 (Rickman). The hosts of the meeting included the British Academy and the Guardian. The objective of the meeting was to determine the influence of cultural diversity on social mistrust and communal spirit, especially at a time when immigration consistently featured the every news headlines.

The latest data from the Office of the National Statistics indicate that the United Kingdom has been experiencing an influx of immigrants since 2014 compounded by several factors such as the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East and Africa and economic collapse of some European nations CITATION Din12 \l 1033 (Rickman). The social influence of this immigration is diverse and varied. For instance, research shows that between 2001 and 2011, the immigrants from European Economic Area (EEA) contributed over 34% to the United Kingdoms financial system that what they took away. The report from the Center for Research and Analysis of Migration also indicated that the immigrants from non-EEA nations boosted the economy of the United Kingdom by 2% CITATION San15 \l 1033 (Kerr). The general contribution of the immigrants to the economy of the United Kingdom amounts to almost 25 billion sterling pounds during the period.

Besides the financial benefits, immigration also assists in creating a culturally diverse society with nearly three hundred languages. For instance, during the 2012 Olympics, the United Kingdom cheered Mo Farah when he won the British a gold medal. However, despite the significance of immigration to the economy and culture of the United Kingdom, it creates challenges that not only encompass the public sectors that creak due to additional demands (Merrick). For instance, public schools lack an adequate capacity to accommodate students who speak English as their second language, the lists of social housing is ever increasing and the international patients continue to fill the UK hospitals. Although multiculturalism appeared some years back as the answer to the social problems that faced the UK and the European Union community in general, a large number of indigenes consider it the cause of the social evils (Miller). This growing perception led the former prime minister, David Cameron to denounce multiculturalism and speak publicly about the dangers it levels to the UK. The attitude also led to an increase in indecent acts of violence towards the BME.

Critics of multiculturalism state that there have been excess immigrants in the UK, which potentially creates a mismatch that ultimately undermines national identities, erodes social cohesion and undermine public trust. In a bid to promote equality, the United Kingdom resorted to giving the BME equal stakes in the political system. The outcome of which has been communal violence (BBC NEWS). The results of multiculturalism across Europe is almost the same; for instance, they lead into alienated minorities, fragmented societies, and resentful citizenries. Politicians continually use multiculturalism not to respond to diversity but to constrain it, which reveals a paradox (Bingham). The policies concerning multiculturalism provide that societies should be diverse, but assume that the implied diversity ends at the edge of minority groups. The policies institutionalize multiculturalism by driving people into cultural and ethnic boxes of homogenous communities then defining their rights and needs accordingly. Therefore, the multicultural policies divide the country more that it seeks to manage.

However, multiculturalism in the United Kingdom is to the detriment of the blacks and minority groups. They are the people at the center of focus. For instance, most youths from BME communities have little access to jobs and apprenticeships CITATION The15 \l 1033 (The Morning Star). Thus, this poses a huge risk of damage to the long run prospect of people from such backgrounds ever obtaining employment opportunities in the public sector in their entire lives. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, therefore, seeks to investigate how the emergence of part time, short-time working, zero-hours contracts and self-employment disproportionately affects the blacks and minority ethnic communities (Merrick). Moreover, various studies depict the levels of inequality in the United Kingdom through referring to the BME communities as living in the margins of the nation. The latest reports released by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the people from the BME communities face high levels of unemployment besides the disproportionate influence caused by the part-time, poorly paid and precarious jobs in their lives and welfare.

The color-blind approach taken by the government and the failure to institutionalize important strategies of dealing with racism in employment opportunities resulted into a high racial inequality in the job market that disfavors the BME communities. In fact, it implies that the structural discrimination facing BME workers will continue unabated into the unforeseeable future. Furthermore, the BME communities in the United Kingdom face several barriers to job opportunities and social mobility. The research carried out at the University of Manchester states that the level of education attainment notwithstanding, the employment outcomes still lag behind among the minority communities (Miller). The report says that the degree of performance is higher among the minority groups compared to the white students. According to the research, although the level of employment opportunities continually improve, the BME consistently experience significant social mobility barriers compared to their peers from white British backgrounds.

The difference in the rates of employment across different minority groups is a historical fact. Scholars consistently show that different minority ethnic groups have different employment indices; some high while other worse. For instance, research published by the Labor Force Survey (LFS) gives an overall picture of the minority ethnic groups

The table above shows that the Asians experienced growth in employment rates from 2001 to 2014. The rates were highest among the whites while the minority groups had the lowest rates of employment. According to the data, men from the Chinese origin had a higher likelihood to get jobs in the United Kingdom than their black counterparts. On the other hand, blacks and Caribbean's had the highest unemployment rates, both men, and women (Bingham). Therefore, the LFS research shows the substantial evidence not only of the existence but also the persistence over a considerable period of employment inequality among ethnic groups. The data shows differences in the labor markets between ethnic and gender groups. However, the information therein illustrates the persistence of employment inequality among the blacks and ethnic minority groups.

The changes experienced in the United Kingdoms labor market over the periods favor the Indians and the Chinese to some extent. Nevertheless, there is an overwhelming evidence of the continued disadvantage of the ethnic minority groups. The terms and practices of employment in the United Kingdom show a significant penalty for the ethnic minority groups within the labor market (BBC NEWS). Empirical studies also indicate over-representation of various ethnic minority groups in particular types of jobs. In the case of low-skilled occupations, it represents discrimination or stereotyping of some forms of employments. On the other hand, overrepresentation into professional positions signifies success in the labor market. Moreover, there is inequality in the employment distribution across minority ethnic communities compared to the relatively equal employment distribution among the white British communities.

However, the most distinctive feature of occupational segregation among the different ethnic communities in the United Kingdom is the practice of over-representation of the white British communities in the professions and jobs that require a high level of skills and over-representation of blacks, Pakistanis, and Africans in the jobs that require low levels of skills (Miller). The presence of some minority gro...