Higher Modern Studies

Social Inequality in
the UK
The nature of social
inequality

Social inequality in the United Kingdom:

Mandatory content for Course

assessment

Examples of possible approaches

Overview: Evidence of social

inequality in the United Kingdom

the nature of social inequality in

the UK: socio-economic status;
geographic location; gender; ethnic
origin etc
evidence of inequality as shown in
official government publications;
pressure groups; policy groups;
voluntary organisations etc

Theories and causes of social

inequality

social explanations/theories
individualistic
explanations/theories

The impact of social inequality on

specific groups in society

the impact of social inequality on

specific groups with regard to:
income
employment
education
housing
health
opportunities for social mobility

Attempts to tackle inequalities and

their effectiveness

legislation
benefits system
public provision of services, eg
housing, health, education
programmes directed to specific
groups
individualistic approaches
evaluation of responses to tackling
inequalities

Throughout this Unit relevant case studies of groups such as those on a

low income (individuals and families), women and ethnic minorities should
be used.

Background reading

Huge survey reveals seven social classes in UK

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22007058
People in the UK now fit into seven social classes, a major survey conducted by the BBC
suggests. It says the traditional categories of working, middle and upper class are
outdated. It found a new model of seven social classes ranging from the elite at the top
to a "precariat" - the poor, precarious proletariat - at the bottom.
More than 161,000 people took part in the Great British Class Survey, the largest study
of class in the UK. Class has traditionally been defined by occupation, wealth and
education. But this research argues that this is too simplistic, suggesting that class has
three dimensions - economic, social and cultural. The BBC Lab UK study measured
economic capital - income, savings, house value - and social capital - the number and
status of people someone knows. The study also measured cultural capital, defined as
the extent and nature of cultural interests and activities.
The new classes are defined as:
1. Elite - the most privileged group in the UK, distinct from the other six classes
through its wealth. This group has the highest levels of all three capitals.
2. Established middle class - the second wealthiest, scoring highly on all three
capitals. The largest and most gregarious group, scoring second highest for
cultural capital.
3. Technical middle class - a small, distinctive new class group which is prosperous
but scores low for social and cultural capital. Distinguished by its social isolation
and cultural apathy.
4. New affluent workers - a young class group which is socially and culturally
active, with middling levels of economic capital.
5. Traditional working class - scores low on all forms of capital, but is not
completely deprived. Its members have reasonably high house values, explained
by this group having the oldest average age at 66.
6. Emergent service workers - a new, young, urban group which is relatively poor
but has high social and cultural capital.
7. Precariat, or precarious proletariat - the poorest, most deprived class, scoring
low for social and cultural capital.
The researchers said while the elite group had been identified before, this is the first
time it had been placed within a wider analysis of the class structure, as it was normally
put together with professionals and managers. At the opposite extreme they said the
precariat, the poorest and most deprived grouping, made up 15% of the population. The
sociologists said these two groups at the extremes of the class system had been
missed in conventional approaches to class analysis, which have focused on the middle
and working classes.

Methodology

Professor of sociology at Manchester University, Fiona Devine, said the survey really
gave a sense of class in 21st Century Britain.

"What it allows us is to understand is a more sophisticated, nuanced picture of what

class is like now. It shows us there is still a top and a bottom, at the top we still have
an elite of very wealthy people and at the bottom the poor, with very little social and
cultural engagement," she said.
"It's what's in the middle which is really interesting and exciting, there's a much more
fuzzy area between the traditional working class and traditional middle class. There is
the emergent workers and the new affluent workers who are different groups of
people who won't necessarily see themselves as working or middle class. The survey has
really allowed us to drill down and get a much more complete picture of class in modern
Britain."
The researchers also found the established middle class made up 25% of the population
and were the largest of all the class groups, with the traditional working class now only
making up 14% of the population.
They say the new affluent workers and emergent service workers appear to be the
children of the "traditional working class," which they say has been fragmented by deindustrialisation, mass unemployment, immigration and the restructuring of urban space.

Researchers asked a series of questions about income, house value, savings, cultural and
leisure activities and the occupations of friends. They were able to determine a
person's economic, social and cultural capital scores from the answers and analysed the
scores to create its class system. The GBCS was launched online in January 2011, but
data showed participants were predominantly drawn from the well-educated social
groups. To overcome this, a second identical survey was run with a survey company GFK,
with a sample of people representing the population of the UK as a whole, using the
information in parallel.

Marx's Social Theory on Class Structure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqcMy3cOiW4
UK now has 7 social classes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QWmi3WRT6o

The nature of social class in the UK

Learning Intentions: (To understand)
The classical definitions of social class
How social class impacts on our lifestyles and life chances
Whether social class in the UK is changing

In the past 40 years the proportion of Britons who regard themselves as middle class
has risen from 30 to 43 per cent. According to a report from the Future Foundation
think-tank, the working classes are in rapid decline, with the middle class poised to
become the majority of the population by 2020.
Many businesses prefer to use the definition of social class as provided by the National
Readership Survey. This enables them to market their products towards the people
most likely to buy them.
Newspaper

Daily Readers

Social Class AB (%)

Social Class DE (%)

The Guardian

1,128,000

60.6

The Independent

792,000

57.7

2.9

The Star

1,786,000

9.1

34

The Sun

7,909,000

10.8

33.1

Classification

Upper middle class and professional occupations, higher managerial

e.g. Head-teacher, company directors, senior police officer

B

Lower middle class, higher professional occupations

e.g. Doctor, lawyer, social worker, teacher

C1

Supervisory or clerical and junior managerial, administrative or professional

Non-manual skilled e.g.

C2

Skilled manual occupations

Partly skilled

Casual labourers, state pensioners, long term unemployed, unskilled occupations

Definitions of Social Class

The sociologist who pioneered much of our thinking on social class was Karl Marx. While
he lived in the 19th century, much of todays discussions of social class still revolve
around Marxs language and his model of social class, deriving from a persons economic
status.
Marx analysed the new capitalist society as it evolved after the industrial revolution.
For Marx, the owners of industry were the ruling class, or to use the language of the
day, the bourgeoisie.
The working class, or the proletariat, according to Marx, were those who worked for
the ruling class. While Marx acknowledged the existence of a middle class, the petty
bourgeoisie, Marx essentially saw Britain divided into two, conflicting classes, whose
interests were fundamentally incompatible. The ruling class was driven to increase
profits.
The way they could do this was to exploit the workers. As the workers sought to
defend or improve their earnings, Marx argued, conflict was inevitable.
Marx claimed that, ultimately, the workers would organise and set up a classless,
communist society, where no one would be exploited and all would be, mostly, equal.
Marxs definition has its merits. The 20th century, as Marx predicted, saw the
development of a large, identifiable working class. In the UKs manufacturing
industries, thousands of people had similar occupations, incomes and lifestyles. Few

people owned property or shares in companies. Working- class life was collective. People
prospered, or declined, as a group.
Working-class people lived in government housing. They often worked in industries
owned by the government, where trade unions were popular, even compulsory. Trade
unions negotiated pay rises for the collective group. Working class children went to the
local state school. Even the travelling to work by bus, rather than private car,
reinforced a sense of collective, rather than individual experience.
Traditional Working Class
Up until recently it was possible to identify a large number of people in the UK who
were working class. They worked regular hours for an employer. They took pride in
working and not relying on benefits. They lived in council housing which had a strong
sense of community. Their children attended the local state school. As successful
working class people have moved into the middle class, it is argued that the traditional
working class is disappearing, being replaced by a more troubled group.
Troubled families
The UK Government has adopted the term troubled families to describe this group. It
believes that there are 120,000 households across England where children are not
being properly looked after. The UK Government maintains that troubled families cost
the taxpayer 9 billion every year. The UK Government has promised local authorities
in England up to 4,000 to deal with each family: by reducing truancy, youth crime and
anti-social behaviour, or putting parents back into work.
In

Scotland, the characters in The Scheme have been

said
to represent a new underclass within traditional
working class communities. Unwilling to work,
addicted to drugs and alcohol and with
none of the collectivist values of the old
working class, the criminal and anti-social
behaviour of this group is the focus of
much Government attention. The Scheme
has been criticised for sensationalising
the activities of a small group of people who are unrepresentative of the wider
community.

Is there Social mobility in the UK?

Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households, or other categories
of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status, or
put simply the extent to which people do better than their parents.

Patrick McGhee, assistant vice-chancellor at the University of Bolton argued tin the
Guardian that last year (2013) Alan Milburns Social Mobility and Child Poverty
Commission memorably told us that the odds of a child on free school meals getting into
Oxbridge was 2,000-1. To put this in context, the odds offered on Bono becoming the
last Pope were 1,000-1. This years report, out last month, reminded us that Britains
elite culture is alive and well: around 75% of senior judges, 59% of the cabinet, 50% of
diplomats, 38% of the House of Lords, 33% of the shadow cabinet and 24% of MPs hold
Oxbridge degrees, yet only 1% of the population are Oxbridge graduates. He then went
onto argue that there is more to social mobility than selective universities. For one
thing, every university is selective on at least some courses. Enabling millions of
students, young and old, full-time and part-time, undergraduate and postgraduate, to
benefit from higher education is where the heavy lifting of social mobility is carried
out, up and down the country and across the whole sector, not just in a small part of it
for
a
small
fraction
of
the
population.
(http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/oct/14/poor-pupil-oxbridge-less-likelypope-bono )
The report Dismantling the barriers to Social Mobility suggested that a country with
lower pre-tax/benefits inequality and reduced child poverty, a higher rate of
employment for women and a more equitable school system would be one that was more
mobile. The governments own report on the State on the Nation, and the Spokesperson
Alan Milburn admits that it is not on target to end Child Poverty by 2020 and f ar from
being on track to meet the statutory goal the government was set to miss the target by
more than 2 million children.
http://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/Social_Mobility_Touchstone_Extra.pdf
https://smcpcommission.blog.gov.uk/2014/03/27/morepacedriveandambitionneeded/

Activities
1. Describe the different ways that social class can be measured.
2. In what way has the traditional view of the working class changed?
3. What evidence is there of social mobility in the UK?

INCOME - The rich get richer?

See clips and make notes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7-mVik0bRw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
annotation_id=annotation_4107974955&feature=iv&src_vid=P7-mVik0bRw&v=tvN8zvovDrY

http://livingwagecommission.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Living-Wage-CommissionReport-v2_f-1.pdf

In
Oxfam

June 2013,
Scotland
published Our
Economy, and investigation into

inequality in Scotland. It concluded that

"Scotland is one of the most unequal societies in the developed world. The
wealthiest households are 273 times richer than the poorest households. This
looks likely to widen in future years.
"In 2012 Scotland's 100 richest men and women increased their fortunes to
21bn, up from a combined wealth of 18bn in 2011. These deepening
inequalities are accentuated by the declining progressivity of the UK tax and
benefits system - which should address rather than exacerbate inequality."

The cumulative wealth of the richest people in the UK has increased compared to last
year, according to British newspaper the Sunday Times. The annual survey, known as
the Rich List, shows that the combined financial worth of the 100 wealthiest men and
women in Britain now tops $675bn, a rise of 4.7 per cent since 2011.
A recent report by Credit Suisse shows that the gap is increasing with the second
largest growth worldwide in million-dollar-wealth households between 2013 and 2014.
Almost 500,000 people tipped over that wealth bracket in those 12 months, mostly
from sitting in property that was rising in value in London. This was a 30.5% increase in
millionaires in a year, compared with a 14.5% rise in France, 14.1% in Germany and 13%
in the US. The UK is out of step. The UK is the only G7 country to record rising wealth
inequality in 2000-14. (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/15/wealthinequality-uk-ticking-timebomb-credit-suisse-crash)
Meanwhile, a family living in poverty today has 10 per day with which to buy
everything, from clothing to food. One in five children in Scotland lives in poverty.
Geographical Location and social class
Current UK estimates from the Office for National Statistics for female life
expectancy at birth are 82.9 years and 79.1 years for men. The results are glaring
when looking at different parts of the country, for both male and female. (see page
12). Watch the clip - The Glasgow effect http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=r0cJ7CX1lCA

Life expectancy for Male and Female in the UK

10

http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/apr/16/commonwealth-games-2014glasgow-lowest-life-expectancy-uk

For your own postcode search using your postcode at

http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/HTMLDocs/dvc169/index.html

Activities
1. What evidence is there to indicate that people in the UK are getting richer than
ever before?
2. What evidence is there to indicate that people in the UK are becoming poorer
than ever before?
3. What conclusions can be reached by looking at life expectancy tables (page 11).
Child Poverty

11

While life expectancy is not good, neither are the figures for child poverty when
looking at different areas in Scotland. Latest figures indicated that one in three
youngsters in Glasgow were living in hardship, putting the city just outside the 20 worst
local authorities in the UK. In another five Scottish council areas, the figures
suggested more than a quarter of all children were growing up in families that were
struggling to get by.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-29618050
Activity
1. Make a bar graph of the worst 6 local authorities in Scotland for child poverty
using the information on page 12.

12

Official measures of child poverty are based on national surveys of family income.
Poverty has devastating effects on children. It affects their life in every area of a
childs development social, educational and personal chances to a large extent. One
of the long- term problems with poverty is debt. Households with children are more
likely than others to have levels of expenditure above their weekly income levels. This
can lead to social exclusion, which can be passed on from generation to generation.
Paying for school uniforms, activities, trips etc. can cost, on average, about 1,000 per
year for a secondary school pupil. Parents and pupils report that they suffer from
considerable disadvantage in school due to these extra costs. School holidays are an
additional challenge with the cost of entertaining the children and the loss of free
school meals.

Child Poverty in the UK: Key facts and figures

A commitment to end child poverty by the year 2020 is enshrined in law.

There are 3.5 million children living in poverty in the UK today. Thats 27% of
children, or more than one in four.

Work does not provide a guaranteed route out of poverty in the UK. Twothirds children growing up in poverty live in a family where at least one
member works.

Under current government policies, child poverty is projected to rise from

2012/13 with an expected 600,000 more children living in poverty by
2015/16. This upward trend is expected to continue with 4.7 million children
projected to be living in poverty by 2020.

13

The Scottish Dimension

In Scotland, 1 in 5 children, are classed as living in poverty. In some areas, this rises to
1 in 3. It comes as figures suggest 13 Scottish councils have wards where more than
30% of children live in pockets of severe poverty. The worst areas were in Glasgow, the
west of Scotland, Edinburgh, Dundee, Fife, Aberdeen and Stirling.

Source: Poverty and Inequality Scotland:

2012/2013
Activities
1. How is poverty calculated in the UK?
2. Why does the governments official poverty line underestimate the
numbers who live in poverty?
3. What is the current extent of poverty in the UK?
4. What are the effects of poverty on a childs life?

Unemployment

14

Unemployment rates do not compare well either for regional differences, see below.

Activities
1. Watch clip and make notes http://www.itv.com/news/2014-1015/unemployment-rates-how-did-your-region-fair/
2. What conclusions can be reached using the Unemployment graph (page 15)?

15

Education and Social class

Education is often the key to social mobility. Not
just formal qualifications, but soft skills, such
as confidence and connections. But, do we all get
an equal chance to have a good education? What
are the factors that determine who does best at
school?

2012 Save the Children report found that poorer children were twice as likely to start
primary school with developmental difficulties, twice as likely to have emotional and
physical development difficulties, twice as likely to have problems with communication
and expressing themselves or making themselves understood. Also they were 50%
more likely to face difficulties mixing with other children. Further they were 40%
more likely to be behind in their cognitive development - the ability to gain knowledge
and learn.

Think about
Where someone is brought up has a key part to play in social mobility. Kelvinside
(Glasgow) and Morningside (Edinburgh) are desirable and expensive residential areas,
and for good reason.

Peer pressure?
Access to a good school?
Local facilities?
Opportunities to socialise at home?

Housing, education and social class are all bound up together.

What can you find out? http://www.scotsman.com/news/education/scotland-s-bestperforming-schools-revealed-1-3240234 follow the link and make notes

More choices, More Chances

It is estimated that in Scotland there are around 35,000 NEETS.
The UK Government still uses the term, but the Scottish
Government prefers to speak of More Choices, More Chances.
Government research suggests that each new NEET dropping out of
education at 16 will cost taxpayers an average of 97,000 during
their lifetime. These figures include the costs of benefits, lost tax
revenue, the extra cost of health and medical services, and the
costs of their criminal activity.

16

Minsters suggest that the impact of NEET is twofold: it stands in the way of
individuals and society achieving optimum economic productivity and social inclusion.
More choices, More Chances is a strategy for both the current stock of young people
who are NEET, and for those many more thousands who are at risk of falling into this
group if we do not get better at linking opportunity with need. Given that low
attainment is a characteristic of this group, it recognises that participating in
education and training rather than employment in jobs without training is the most
effective way of enabling these young people to access and sustain employment
opportunities throughout their adult lives.
The Hunter Foundation was established in 1998 by Tom and Marion Hunter. The
Foundation's focus is on investment in national educational programmes that, as
described on its website, 'challenge stubborn, system wide issues that prevent children
from achieving their potential'.

Housing
Council or housing association has become the main accommodation for those on low
incomes. However, due to increased social mobility (wealthier move away) and
government failure to build enough new cheap homes, social housing has increasingly
been of the poorest type in the poorest areas (peripheral housing estates or inner
city).
Poor housing is closely linked to social exclusion: poor housing (multi/tenements on sink
estates) leads to poorer health (damp, overcrowding, etc.); greater likelihood of
suffering crime; sink schools with low educational attainment, etc. Homeless people are
in all ways socially excluded. This has been further dented by the introduction of the
Bedroom tax.
Activities
1. In what way does a persons social class effects their education prospects?
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bD7U8kqI8A (59 minutes) Richard Bilton
examines the social barriers that have contributed to the UK being more unequal
than at any other time in history.

17

Inequality effects everyone - not just those living in poverty

Since (New) Labour came to power in 1997 the proportion
of personal wealth held by the top 10% has swelled from
47% to 54%.Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett in the
influential textbook The Spirit Level argue that this
inequality is bad for all of us. Only Portugal, Singapore and
the USA have lower life expectancy and higher infant
mortality rates than the UK. By contrast, those countries
which have greater equality, such as Japan and the
Scandinavian countries are healthier in a whole number of
ways.
Wilkinson and Pickett contend that inequalities lead to greater competition between
individuals and a "keep up with the Jones's" mentality. People in the UK are increasingly
judged by their material possessions and social status. This creates feelings of
isolation and stress which affects the quality of family life.
Too many people, even in these credit crunch times, work too many hours and too many
days. This takes its toll on our self-esteem and our psychological well-being. Wilkinson
and Pickett produce an array of statistics which shows that increased inequalities have
resulted in:

Increased adult obesity

Increased mental ill health

Increased teenage illiteracy

Increased teenage pregnancy

Increased drug use

Increased alcohol abuse

As the authors write, "the relationships between inequality and poor health and social
problems are too strong to be attributable to chance." All levels of society, including
the poor, have more money, but a lower quality of life. The authors argue that if we
were to concentrate on making our incomes as equal as those of people in Japan and
Scandinavia, we could each have seven extra weeks holiday a year, we would be thinner,
we would each live a year or so longer, and
we'd trust each other more.
Their conclusions echo those of similar recent
best sellers, such as Oliver James's Affluenza

18

and Alain de Botton's Status Anxiety, which raise that age old dilemma of whether it is
better to be happy or to be rich. But, whether the middle classes or the super-rich will
be prepared to sacrifice their wealth to go to the poorer sections of society is another
question.
Neither Labour nor the Conservatives, the only parties under a First Past the Post
voting system with any realistic chance of power, are in any hurry to create income
equality. The Conservatives believe in individual freedoms to make as much money as
possible.
Government's job is to provide a tax system which assist in this wealth creation in the
belief that wealth will "trickle down".
Labour has always been wary of Daily Mail reading voters who view any wealth
redistribution as evidence that the government would tax and spend their hard earned
incomes. While Labour is promising to reintroduce the 50% top band of income tax,
Labour, like the Conservatives and the other major parties believe in equality of
opportunity, not equality itself.

Activities
1. In what way does wealth inequality have negative consequences for society
in general?
2. What has been the political parties attitude towards wealth inequality in
the UK?

Gender Inequality in the UK

At secondary school level in Scotland, girls, in general, do much
better than boys. There are a whole variety of reasons for this
but the stats don't lie. So it would be reasonable to suggest
that as the journey of life goes on, women should, at the very
least, have equal opportunities to men. This is not the case and
there are several gender inequalities which have proven hard to
eradicate.
Misogyny

19

Misogyny can be defined as 'a dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against
women'. This can take the form of old fashioned attitudes about women's place in
society. These days, thanks to government legislation, there are few organisations
which can legally treat women unequally but amazingly there are still some. In 2013,
campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez received around 50 abusive tweets an hour for a 12hour period after she successfully campaigned for a woman, Jane Austin to feature on
UK bank notes.
Domestic Abuse
Women are much more likely than men to suffer from physical or emotional domestic
abuse. In 2011-12, 81% of recorded domestic abuse incidents were violence against a
woman committed by a man. There were 60,080 incidents of domestic abuse recorded
by the police in Scotland in 2012-13.

In August 2013 a police report on domestic abuse after football games, compiled by the
former Strathclyde Police force, revealed a 14% rise in abuse across the west of
Scotland on the day of football games and ranked increases next to individual clubs
playing their fixtures. The report, covering 2004 to 2009, established that a
significant positive relationship did exist between domestic abuse incidents and
matches.
Domestic abuse rose 10% when Rangers played and 3% on the day of Celtic matches.
Kilmarnock games coincided with a 0.13% rise, while Motherwell fixtures were linked to
a 0.56% increase.

Sexual Assaults
Recent years have seen a marked increase in sexual attacks on women. Scottish
Government statistics show that there were over 7000 reports of sexual offences in
2011 -12.The number of reported rapes (there may well be many more which went
unreported) rose by 19% during the year 2011-12, and collectively with attempted
rapes, there was a rise of 13% in reported incidents of these crimes.

20

In response to the increase in violence and ill-judged

comments by a police officer, some 200 people marched in
Glasgows first ever Slut Walk in protest at the belief
that rape victims "ask for it.26% of Scots surveyed in
2007 thought that a woman bore some responsibility for
being raped if she wore revealing clothing.
Scotland has been criticised for having one of Europe's lowest conviction rates. The
Scottish Government has passed the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act in an attempt to
improve rape conviction rate.
A Reclaim the Night rally also took place in Glasgow, which aimed to draw attention to
the violence that women face when walking the streets.
The Pay Gap
A 2012 Office for National Statistics report showed
that the gender pay gap in full-time employment
gender pay gap is less than 10% for first time since
records began. But the overall gap remains almost
double that. The five highest paid occupations
aircraft pilots; chief executives and directors of
advertising and PR; marketing and sales; and
telecommunications firms continue to be dominated
by men and have a negligible number of part-time positions. In contrast, four of the
five worst paid occupations waiters and waitresses, bar staff, catering assistants and
launderers are dominated by women and have more part-time jobs than full-time ones.
The 2011 Sex and Power report concludes that at the current rate of progress it will
take women 30 years to achieve an equal number of senior police officers as men and
70 to achieve an equal number of top company directors. Their conclusions on inequality
have been echoed by their subsequent reports.

21

Exclusive: Equal pay is 60 years away, claims new research

Labour is to place a commitment to equalise pay between men and women at the heart of its
manifesto for the next election.
The party is understood to view the issue of equal pay as unfinished business from the last time it
was in power and is keen to capitalise on David Camerons women problem, with polls showing
he does not connect well with female voters.
Today Labour will go on the attack on the subject, publishing figures showing that the pay gap
between the sexes began to widen again in 2013, reversing years of progress. The gap has closed
by an average of just 0.31 per cent a year under the Coalition, the figures show slower than
when Labour was in power, when it closed by an average of 0.55 per cent annually.
The figures show that in 1997 the pay gap between men and women was 27.5 per cent. Over the
intervening years it has narrowed steadily but in 2013 it rose for the first time, from 19.6 per cent
to 19.7 per cent. Labour believes that the Conservatives are weak on the issue of equal pay and
are keen to make it a dividing line between the parties. A senior party source said: Its very likely to
be something that we will address in the manifesto.
The gender pay gap currently stands at 19.7 per cent, with women earning only 80p for every 1
earned by men. At the current rate of progress, Labour says, it would take women more than 60
years to achieve financial equality with men more than a century since the promise of equal pay
was first made in Labours Equal Pay Act of 1970.A senior Labour figure said equal pay was
viewed within the party as unfinished business. They said: There are certain areas which most
people recognise we shouldve addressed in Government. We made huge strides on gay rights,
but equal pay was one of the things that got neglected. We mustnt let the opportunity go to waste
again.
Britains gender pay gap remains high due to huge pay discrepancies between men and women in
senior roles. A much larger proportion of women are also in part-time positions, which are subject
to lower pay and poorer career prospects. Last month, the Liberal Democrats announced that they
would be including a commitment in their manifesto to require all businesses with more than 250
employees to measure and publish information on their gender pay gaps, in an attempt to shame
large firms into action.
The policy was included in the Equality Act 2010, which was passed by the Labour government just
before the last general election, but the section referring to it was later shelved by the Coalition.
Labour is expected to resurrect the policy in its manifesto for 2015.
Equal pay campaigners said the figures should act as a wake-up call for the Government. Daisy
Sands, head of policy and campaigns at the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for womens
equality and rights, said: The gap in pay between women and men is a key measure of economic
inequality between the sexes. News that the gap has begun to widen, after years of slow but
steady progress, is a damning indictment of the Governments record when it comes to womens
standing in the economy. Womens position in the labour market and their wider financial security
are at grave risk.
Frances OGrady, the general secretary of the TUC, said: It is a scandal that four decades after
the Equal Pay Act, women still earn on average 5,000 a year less than men. This pay gap can
add up to hundreds of thousands of pounds over the course of a womans working life. We need to
see a much tougher approach in the next parliament so that future generations of women dont
suffer the same penalties. All companies should be properly transparent about how they pay staff.
Compulsory pay audits would give employers the information they need to take closing the pay gap
22
seriously.
The Independent 08/08/14

The Glass Ceiling

Sex discrimination in employment is illegal. There are
powerful laws to make sure employers offer equal
opportunities in hiring and promoting staff. However,
it is still the woman, rather than the man in a
relationship, that is more likely to take time out from
work to bring up baby or look after elderly relatives.
That is not because the man is necessarily a sexist.
On the contrary, modern man appears to be keener
than ever to do his fatherly duties. It's just simple
economics. Because the man in a relationship is more
likely to be in the better paid job, it makes financial
sense for the woman to give up her work. This then
creates a vicious circle. Because women give up their jobs, they miss out on the training
courses, the promotion networking, the away day bonding with employers, the work
experience; all the things that lead to promotion and higher pay. Therefore men get
the top jobs, therefore women take time off to bring up baby, and the cycle goes on
This is called the glass ceiling.
A 2011 study by the Institute of Leadership & Management found that 73% of women
managers believed there were barriers preventing them from progressing to top levels.
The employer may be the most family friendly, non-sexist employer in the world. The
male partner may even share all his money with his wife and family, but the men still, on
average, get the top jobs.
Until women reach financial equality with men, the glass ceiling is likely to continue.

QUESTIONS
1. Describe the main sources of gender inequality in the UK.
2. What evidence is there of gender inequality in employment and pay?
3. Define the term the glass ceiling and explain how it affects womens
ability to access the top jobs in employment.
4. How can political parties go about equalising pay between men and
women?

23

Racial Inequality in the UK

The 2011 Census revealed that in England and Wales, 86% of residents - 48.2 million
people - were white, of whom 45.1 million described themselves as white British.
Englands ethnic-minority population grew from 9% of the total in 2001 to 14% in
2011.The most ethnically diverse area was London, where fewer than half (45%; 3.7
million) of the city's 8.2 million residents were white British. The least ethnically
diverse area is Wales.

Figure 1.1 Ethnic Group Demographics in England and Wales

Source: ONS
Scotland has a smaller proportion of BME residents than England. The 2011 Scottish
Census estimated Scotland's total population stood at 5,295,000. The size of the
minority ethnic population in 2011 was just over 200,000 or 4 per cent of the total
population of Scotland (based on the 2011 ethnicity classification); this has doubled
since 2001 when just over 100,000 or 2 per cent of the total population of Scotland
(based on the 2001 ethnicity classification) were from a minority ethnic group.

Group

% of population
% of minority
ethnic
Figure 1.2 Ethnic
Group Demographics
in Scotland
population

Base

African

0.6

14

30,000

Asian/Asian Scottish/Asian
British

2.7

67

141,000

Caribbean or Black

0.1

7,000

Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups

0.4

20,000

Other ethnic group

0.3

14,000

White

96.0

n/a

5,084,000

All Minority Ethnic Population

4.0

100

211,000

All Population

100

n/a

5,295,000

24

The greatest numbers of ethnic minorities are found in the Asian group. The greatest
concentration of the Scottish BME population is in Glasgow and to some extent its
Source: Scotlands Census 2011
suburbs. In recent years East Renfrewshire has seen the largest percentage growth in
BME population as residents move to the outer southern Glasgow suburbs. The biggest
single increase was in the number of people claiming a mixed-ethnic background. This
almost doubled, to around 1.2m. Among children under the age of five, 6% had a mixed
backgroundmore than belonged to any other minority group.
Mixed-race children are now about as common in Britain as in
Americaa country with many more non-whites and a longer
history of mass immigration. What this means is that 'racial
purity' (if there ever was such a thing) is becoming less
common.
Racial and national identity is changing; some people feel they
have more than one national identity.

Racism
Racism can be defined as "Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against
someone of a different race based on the belief that ones own race is superior".
Racism isn't always about colour. Under the Equality Act (2010), racial discrimination
arises when a person or group is treated less favourably than another in similar
circumstances 'on racial grounds'. These are defined as colour, race nationality
(including citizenship), or ethnic or national origins.
Discrimination might be on the grounds that a person was
black (colour), Chinese (ethnic or national origins rather than
nationality if the person came from Malaysia), or Pakistani
(nationality), and it includes discrimination against white
people (grounds of colour), or against Europeans of
particular nationalities (for example, Irish, English, Polish).
Immigrants to the UK from eastern Europe, most of whom are white have been victims
of racism from white individuals. There is a long history of anti-Irish racism in the UK.
More recently there have been cases of anti-English racism in Scotland.
In recent years there have been some high profile racial incidents. Former Liverpool
striker Luis Suarez was judged to have used racist language towards Manchester
United defender Patrice Evra. He was banned by the FA for 8 matches. Chelsea captain

25

John Terry appeared in court charged with racially abusing QPR defender Anton
Ferdinand. Terry was found not guilty. Racist political groups such as the British

National Party and the English/Scottish Defence League have campaigned against
immigration and sought to exploit racial tensions.

The BBCs Jeremy Clarkson was

embroiled in a race row after footage
emerged of him having used racist
language while filming an episode of Top
Gear. Clarkson denied the claim but later
apologised for his actions.

Islamophobia
Racial tensions, in general have increased since the
9/11 attacks on America. The 7/7 bombings in London,
the Glasgow airport attack and the murder of soldier
Lee Rigby have also heightened tensions. Islamophobic
hate crimes surged in UK following Lee Rigby's murder,
taking the form of from attacks on mosques, racial
abuse, assaults and anti-Muslim graffiti.
The definition of a racist incident as given by Sir
William MacPherson in his Report on the Stephen
Lawrence Inquiry is "any incident which is perceived to
be racist by the victim or any other person."
There were 4,628 racist incidents recorded by
the police in Scotland in 2012-13, a decrease
of 14% compared to 2011-12, when 5,389
incidents were recorded.

26

Institutional Racism
Institutional racism remains a problem. The term came into the public domain after the
botched investigation by the Metropolitan Police into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
In 1993, Stephen Lawrence was murdered in London. The attack was completely racist.
Stephen Lawrence was a quiet, studious school pupil, on his way home after playing with
friends. He was stabbed and died from his injuries. The poor police response and
murder investigation resulted in the McPherson report and the admission from the
Metropolitan Police that the force was institutionally racist. Institutional Racism
happens when an organisation's procedures and policies amount to disadvantaging people
from minority ethnic backgrounds. It is defined by the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry as:
'the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional
service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin. It can be seen
or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination
through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racial stereotyping
which disadvantages minority ethnic people'.
In December 2011, Gary Dobson, 35, and David Norris, 34, were found guilty of the
murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, some 17 years after the original trial.
This was made possible after changes to the double jeopardy law, which means a case
can now be re-opened if there is new and compelling evidence.

UKIP

UKIP have been condemned by many as being a racist party due to their views on
immigration, and comments that were made by candidates ahead of the 2014 European
Parliament elections. The leader of UKIP, Nigel Farage, has denied that UKIP is racist
blaming large sections of the media for over-publicising comments that were made by a
QUESTIONS
handful
of individuals.

1. Describe the ethnic group demographics for:

a) England and Wales
b) Scotland
2. How is racism defined?

3. Which groups of people have faced racism in the UK and why?

4. How did the murder of Stephen Lawrence show that the metropolitan
27
police was institutionally racist?
HOMEWORK RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Find out what UKIPs views are on immigration and the comments that have

Undercover job hunters reveal huge race bias in Britain's workplaces

Civil servants created false identities to send CVs to hundreds of employers in sting to uncover
discrimination
A government sting operation targeting hundreds of employers across Britain has uncovered widespread
racial discrimination against workers with African and Asian names.
Researchers sent nearly 3,000 job applications under false identities in an attempt to discover if employers
were discriminating against jobseekers with foreign names. Using names recognisably from three different
communities Nazia Mahmood, Mariam Namagembe and Alison Taylor false identities were created with
similar experience and qualifications. Every false applicant had British education and work histories.
They found that an applicant who appeared to be white would send nine applications before receiving a
positive response of either an invitation to an interview or an encouraging telephone call. Minority
candidates with the same qualifications and experience had to send 16 applications before receiving a
similar response.
The alarming results have prompted Jim Knight, the employment minister, to consider barring companies
that have been found to have discriminated against employees from applying for government contracts.
"We suspected there was a problem. This uncovers the shocking scale of it," he said. "Candidates with an
Asian or African name face real discrimination and this has exposed the fact that companies are missing
out on real talent."
Researchers from the National Centre for Social Research, commissioned by the Department for Work and
Pension (DWP), sent three different applications for 987 actual vacancies between November 2008 and
May 2009. Nine occupations were chosen, ranging from highly qualified positions such as accountants and
IT technicians to less well-paid positions such as care workers and sales assistants.
All the job vacancies were in the private, public and voluntary sectors and were based in Birmingham,
Bradford, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, London and Manchester. The report concludes that there was no
plausible explanation for the difference in treatment found between white British and ethnic minority
applicants other than racial discrimination. It also finds that public sector employers were less likely to have
been discriminated on the grounds of race than those in the private sector.
One reason for this discrepancy, according to the conclusion, is the use of standard application forms in the
public sector which hide or disguise the ethnicity of an applicant. The research is also understood to have
found that larger employers were less likely to discriminate than small employers.
Researchers have refused to release the names of the guilty employers, but it is expected that they will be
contacted to let them know they had been targeted.
The report has been welcomed by senior race advisers as evidence of discrimination in the job market.
Iqbal Wahhab, chair of the Ethnic Minority Advisory Group, which proposes policy changes for the
government on race and employment, said: "The evidence of the DWP report is unquestionable we live in
a society where racial discrimination systematically occurs and currently goes in the main unchallenged."
Wahhab, an entrepreneur, said that the employers should not be "named and shamed" but persuaded to
change.
Abigail Morris, employment policy adviser to the British Chambers of Commerce, said the research was
flawed. "There are limitations to the results. The researchers only used nine occupations, and I am not sure
that the number of replies they received is a representative sample. We are concerned that the results
28 will
be interpreted to say that most employers are racist, whereas they prove no such thing."

The Observer 18/10/09