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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/10/race-inequality-disparity-audit-bme-women-britain
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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Race inequality is out in the open: time to stop talking and act | Race inequality is out in the open: time to stop talking and act |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| When my gran moved to Reading in 1960, finding a room to rent wasn’t easy. The worst quality rooms at sky-high prices were available for black people then; the signs in the windows infamously scrawled “No blacks, no Irish, no dogs”. | When my gran moved to Reading in 1960, finding a room to rent wasn’t easy. The worst quality rooms at sky-high prices were available for black people then; the signs in the windows infamously scrawled “No blacks, no Irish, no dogs”. |
| This was a common experience of the Windrush generation. Fast-forward 15 years to a classroom in west Reading and the teacher has made a black student dance like a monkey on the table – as entertainment. My mother – looking on – is not laughing. It isn’t funny when you’re the butt of the joke. | This was a common experience of the Windrush generation. Fast-forward 15 years to a classroom in west Reading and the teacher has made a black student dance like a monkey on the table – as entertainment. My mother – looking on – is not laughing. It isn’t funny when you’re the butt of the joke. |
| The same schoolyard crime would have very different consequences for the minority-ethnic kids than it did for the white ones. My mum left school at 16 and went to work. Most of the ethnic minority children got out as soon as they could to escape the mockery and unfair racist treatment from the teachers who were meant to fill them with the confidence to reach their full potential. | The same schoolyard crime would have very different consequences for the minority-ethnic kids than it did for the white ones. My mum left school at 16 and went to work. Most of the ethnic minority children got out as soon as they could to escape the mockery and unfair racist treatment from the teachers who were meant to fill them with the confidence to reach their full potential. |
| These overt and extreme experiences of racism are consigned to the past, but their impact lives on. They have everything to do with the socioeconomic position I was born into. Disadvantage, when not tackled, is inherited generation to generation. Today more subtle and hidden forms of racism and discrimination continue to blight our society. And this leaves black and minority-ethnic people – women in particular – on an unequal playing field before they even get going. | These overt and extreme experiences of racism are consigned to the past, but their impact lives on. They have everything to do with the socioeconomic position I was born into. Disadvantage, when not tackled, is inherited generation to generation. Today more subtle and hidden forms of racism and discrimination continue to blight our society. And this leaves black and minority-ethnic people – women in particular – on an unequal playing field before they even get going. |
| Today the Race Disparity Audit publishes its Ethnicity Facts and Figures website, which shines a light on stark injustices suffered by BME people across the country. While two in three white British households own their home, the audit found only two in five households from any other ethnic group own their house. | Today the Race Disparity Audit publishes its Ethnicity Facts and Figures website, which shines a light on stark injustices suffered by BME people across the country. While two in three white British households own their home, the audit found only two in five households from any other ethnic group own their house. |
| If your grandparents couldn’t even rent a room, you’re less likely to inherit a deposit one or two generations down the line. But what if the government’s current policies were making things worse for BME women – even inadvertently? | If your grandparents couldn’t even rent a room, you’re less likely to inherit a deposit one or two generations down the line. But what if the government’s current policies were making things worse for BME women – even inadvertently? |
| A report published today by the Runnymede Trust and the Women’s Budget Group shows that BME women – already worse off in the job market and housing – are hardest hit by austerity policies. | A report published today by the Runnymede Trust and the Women’s Budget Group shows that BME women – already worse off in the job market and housing – are hardest hit by austerity policies. |
| What if the government’s policies were making things worse for BME women – even inadvertently? | What if the government’s policies were making things worse for BME women – even inadvertently? |
| Single mothers across all income levels, and working families with children have lost out the most, as rents and living costs rise, children’s centres close and public services are cut – but working-age benefits such as tax credits and housing benefit stay frozen. | Single mothers across all income levels, and working families with children have lost out the most, as rents and living costs rise, children’s centres close and public services are cut – but working-age benefits such as tax credits and housing benefit stay frozen. |
| The poorest black and Asian families will suffer a massive 20% drop in living standards by 2020. Single parents, of whom 92% are women, will experience an average drop in living standards of 18% until 2020. Women are losing more than men, and BME households are losing more than white households. The intersection of poverty, race and gender means that these cuts are leading to a dramatic fall in the standard of living of many BME women. This is not the equal opportunity meritocracy we were promised. | The poorest black and Asian families will suffer a massive 20% drop in living standards by 2020. Single parents, of whom 92% are women, will experience an average drop in living standards of 18% until 2020. Women are losing more than men, and BME households are losing more than white households. The intersection of poverty, race and gender means that these cuts are leading to a dramatic fall in the standard of living of many BME women. This is not the equal opportunity meritocracy we were promised. |
| This is why assessing and publishing how policies affect women and ethnic minorities differently is so important. When all policies are being formed, debated and considered, vulnerable groups must be taken into account. | This is why assessing and publishing how policies affect women and ethnic minorities differently is so important. When all policies are being formed, debated and considered, vulnerable groups must be taken into account. |
| Throughout sixth form I received education maintenance allowance. And when I went to university in 2010, being from a single-parent family was considered as part of my student loan application. | Throughout sixth form I received education maintenance allowance. And when I went to university in 2010, being from a single-parent family was considered as part of my student loan application. |
| I was given a maintenance grant and a generous scholarship for high achievement on a low income. I studied abroad and interned every summer. Now students face fees three times higher than mine – averaging £9,000 a year – and maintenance grants have been replaced with more loans. | I was given a maintenance grant and a generous scholarship for high achievement on a low income. I studied abroad and interned every summer. Now students face fees three times higher than mine – averaging £9,000 a year – and maintenance grants have been replaced with more loans. |
| Reclaim, a charity working with working class young people, spoke to black and minority-ethnic women in Manchester about how their lived experience has changed since 2010. They heard stories of people struggling to make ends meet: young women working multiple jobs to get through college and university as fees were increased and grants scrapped, unable to do essential internships or concentrate on their studies. One woman had four jobs while in college “just so [she] could pay for things”. Cuts to education have far-reaching effects, making it more difficult to get top grades and work experience, which can lead to employment. | Reclaim, a charity working with working class young people, spoke to black and minority-ethnic women in Manchester about how their lived experience has changed since 2010. They heard stories of people struggling to make ends meet: young women working multiple jobs to get through college and university as fees were increased and grants scrapped, unable to do essential internships or concentrate on their studies. One woman had four jobs while in college “just so [she] could pay for things”. Cuts to education have far-reaching effects, making it more difficult to get top grades and work experience, which can lead to employment. |
| With the Race Disparity Audit bringing injustice and inequality out of obscurity and into the mainstream – raw and exposed – it’s time to act. We must make sure government policies aren’t making life harder for BME women. We are calling for urgent action – a review of universal credit, an end to the benefit freeze, and a full reinstatement of maintenance grants. Only then will BME women get the fair deal we deserve. | With the Race Disparity Audit bringing injustice and inequality out of obscurity and into the mainstream – raw and exposed – it’s time to act. We must make sure government policies aren’t making life harder for BME women. We are calling for urgent action – a review of universal credit, an end to the benefit freeze, and a full reinstatement of maintenance grants. Only then will BME women get the fair deal we deserve. |
| • Kimberly McIntosh is policy officer at the Runnymede Trust | • Kimberly McIntosh is policy officer at the Runnymede Trust |
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| Inequality | Inequality |
| Women | Women |
| Poverty | Poverty |
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