inequality – The Equality Blog

Unveiling the Layers of Structural Inequality in the UK

Structural inequality is an issue that plagues societies around the world, and the United Kingdom is no exception. Despite being one of the world’s leading economies, the UK continues to grapple with deep-rooted disparities that affect various aspects of people’s lives. This blog post aims to shed light on the structural inequalities present within the UK and the implications they have on individuals and communities.

1. Education Disparities:

Education serves as a crucial pillar for social mobility and equal opportunities. However, structural inequalities within the UK education system contribute to disparities that perpetuate social divisions. Research has shown that students from disadvantaged backgrounds often face limited access to quality education, resulting in lower academic achievement and reduced prospects for future success. This perpetuates a cycle of inequality that is difficult to break.

2. Income and Wealth Inequality:

A significant aspect of structural inequality in the UK revolves around income and wealth disparities. Despite economic growth, the gap between the richest and poorest continues to widen. This inequality is reflected in unequal wages, limited job opportunities, and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. The impact of this inequality is felt in various aspects of life, including access to healthcare, housing, and basic necessities.

3. Housing Inequality:

The housing market in the UK has long been plagued by structural inequality. Skyrocketing house prices, limited affordable housing options, and an increasing number of people living in insecure accommodation contribute to a cycle of housing inequality. This disparity disproportionately affects marginalized communities, leading to overcrowding, homelessness, and a lack of stability.

4. Racial and Ethnic Inequality:

Another dimension of structural inequality in the UK is racial and ethnic disparities. Despite being a diverse society, racial and ethnic minorities often face discrimination and unequal treatment in various spheres of life, including employment, healthcare, and the criminal justice system. These inequalities not only hinder social cohesion but also perpetuate systemic barriers that limit opportunities for marginalized communities.

5. Health Inequities:

Health outcomes in the UK are significantly influenced by structural inequalities. Socioeconomic factors such as income, education, and employment opportunities play a crucial role in determining the overall health and well-being of individuals. Research has consistently shown that individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds experience poorer health outcomes, including higher rates of chronic diseases and reduced life expectancy.

Addressing structural inequalities at a strategic level

Addressing structural inequality in the UK requires a multifaceted approach that involves policy changes, social awareness, and collective action. By acknowledging and understanding the various dimensions of inequality, we can work towards creating a more equitable society. The fight against structural inequality is not an easy one, but it is a necessary one for building a fairer and more inclusive future for all individuals in the United Kingdom.

Actions that can support reducing structural inequalities

Organisational EDI Strategy

The CIPD recommends a coherent strategy for fostering an inclusive culture that embraces diversity across the organisation. For the strategy to succeed, “it must be supported by organisational values as well as leader and manager behaviour that reflects the importance of EDI”.

Pay Gap Reporting

According to People Magazine, the reporting of pay gaps is one “meaningful way to provide equality data that can be assessed, benchmarked, and used to drive change”.

Law requires organisations with more than 250 employees to report their gender pay gap. This will help an organisation demonstrate a commitment “to tackling pay disparities between men and women by publishing an annual gender pay gap report, which includes an action plan to improve women’s equality and fairness”.

Training and Development

ACAS state that “training, development, and promotion of staff should also consider EDI”. During new staff inductions, organisation should provide EDI training, so everyone is on board with the equality, diversity, and inclusion policy right away. In addition, its good practice to provide training and development for employees and managers so they can access opportunities without prejudice. Training for performance review processes and promotions ensures that no questions arise about an employee’s fit due to their protected characteristic.

Accessible Information

The Office for Disability Issues states that “accessible communication formats (also called alternative formats) is crucial to reaching all your audience”.

By automatically captioning virtual meetings, recording post-events, and adding subtitles to short videos, this can be accomplished. Furthermore, events should advise on speakers, slides, short videos, polls, breakout sessions, and virtual chats, as well as provide prior knowledge about the format of events. On request, the organisation should be able to provide documents in easy-to-read formats and forms in large print. Similarly, an organisations website should reflect this as well, supporting zooming in up to 200% without spilling text off the screen, navigating the website with just a keyboard, using speech recognition software to navigate the website, and using a screen reader to listen to the website.

Managing neurodiversity in the workplace

According to Harvard Health, Neurodiversity refers to diversity in the human brain and cognition, for instance in sociability, learning, attention, mood, and other mental functions. It provides an inclusive view of cognitive diversity, highlighting the differences at a neuro-biological level while considering the socio-cultural contexts of a human’s lived experience.

Employers need to be mindful as to how the business set up helps support those with different neurological conditions to create a diverse workforce. This includes:

· Understanding the importance of managing neurodiversity at work.
· Understanding how to manage neurodiversity at work, and
· Being better able to support those with different neurological conditions.

In 2021, a Harvard Health report described the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one “right” way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits.

The report explains how neurodiversity advocates encourage inclusive, non-judgmental language. While many disability advocacy organizations prefer person-first language (“a person with autism,” “a person with Down syndrome”), some research has found that the majority of the autistic community prefers identity-first language (“an autistic person”).

Therefore, rather than making assumptions, it is best to ask directly about a person’s preferred language, and how they want to be addressed. Knowledge about neurodiversity and respectful language is also important for clinicians, so they can address the mental and physical health of people with neurodevelopmental differences.

According to Professor Amanda Kirby, CEO of Do-it Solutions Limited and Campaigner for Neurodiversity, Neurodiversity is the way we think, move, act, communicate and process information.

She explains, “we are all different. Some people have challenges and strengths associated with conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Dyslexia, Autism, Dyscalculia, Developmental Coordination Disorder/Dyspraxia, Developmental Language Disorder.

There is not one person or one condition that defines our differences ( or our similarities). We are too often defined by what we can’t do and not by what we can.

The reality is that some people will gain a diagnosis of Dyslexia, for example, and others diagnosed as having Autism or ADHD. However, who gains a diagnosis often can be a bit of a lottery. It can depend on whether difficulties are identified as a child by a teacher who spots some signs of Dyslexia or Dyspraxia (also known as Developmental Coordination Disorder) or by a parent who knows something about one of these conditions.

It often requires tenacity on the part of the parent or individual and also depends on local waiting lists and service availability. For many people it can be a lengthy and at times costly process in terms of stress. Some people are paying for assessments as an alternative at a high cost.

For most people the starting position is to understand their challenges and gain some practical strategies to help as soon as possible. By understanding their unique spiky profile, you have a starting point to help to support them to be their best.

A person-centred approach means that strategies are tailored to EACH PERSON. It also importantly means harnessing strengths, to build confidence, self-esteem and become resilient.”

Professor Kirby’s research produced an effective guide for employers to making different adjustments for neurodivergent people, where three elements can be easily changed. Take a look at the graphic below and consider what your organisation can do to better understand how to manage neurodiversity at work, and how to support those with different neurological conditions.

I’d love to hear where you are on your journey to becoming an neurodiverse workplace. Let me know in the comments…

Voice, Power, Advocacy and Change – Effective Staff Networks

Staff networks provide a safe and practical space where generating and sharing new ideas, and exchanging information can be expressed in an informal environment. They also provide peer support, networking opportunities and social activities. Their activities can help to open the door to changing the culture of an organisation.

Effective staff networks are self-governed, and their terms of reference, leadership and membership arrangements are determined by their own members. However, these networks should operate with the full support of the organsaition and a framework is recommended so there is clarity, coherence and consistency of approach in the operation of all staff network groups.

Staff networks can be a powerful tool for empowering minority groups to have an effective voice in an organisation. In the context of diversity and inclusion, a minority group is a group of individuals who are known to have been discriminated against on the basis of a shared characteristic. It is worth noting that these groups may not be a minority in terms of numbers as in the case of women, who are a minority group, despite comprising over half of the UK population.

According to Advance H.E. (formally the Equality Challenge Unit), staff networks may not work in every workplace and/or for all minority groups, and their viability and success will depend on the culture and demand within individual organisations.

Networks need to be led by the staff groups that they represent. However, there is a role for institutions to facilitate and support the development of networks:

Involve staff and discuss the need for staff networks. This could be linked to specific times of year to maximise impact, for example discussing the possibility of a women’s network on international women’s day. A specific event gives the opportunity to discuss whether it is viable and to look for volunteers to take the network forward.
Provide a budget. From refreshment for meetings, to organising specific events or training and development, a budget of any size helps to ensure the network is sustainable and effective.
Ensure senior management are open to dialogue. Networks can provide a useful perspective on institutional practice. Consultation should be genuine and views of the network taken seriously.
Publicise networks to all staff. A dedicated area on your website/intranet means that all staff are aware of support and opportunities. Promote the networks during staff inductions to maximise membership and ensure all staff are able to benefit.
Create a culture of acceptance for participation. It can be intimidating to join a network and there can be a perception that members of networks are ‘troublemakers’.
Ensure line managers encourage staff to attend meetings in work hours. Senior management engagement can help to legitimise the group, and positive endorsement can underline that taking part is worthwhile.

Aims and Objectives

1. Sharing experiences and providing advice and support in a confidential safe space

Often a staff network is the opportunity staff members have to discuss the challenges they have faced at work. To meet this aim, it is likely that membership will be limited to people with the particular shared characteristic. Organisations need to carefully consider how, when and where the group will meet, and how to get a balance between giving an opportunity to share personal experiences while retaining momentum and developing positive solutions.

2. Working collectively towards improving institutional policies and practices and implementing change

Networks with this aim can be useful for their members and their institution. They can raise concerns from members, act as a consultation group for policies and practice and help to generate ideas and solutions. However, to be successful and to maintain momentum, the organisation has to listen to the network and genuinely involve them in decision making and policy review.

Terms of Reference

Networks can have a variety of terms of reference, depending on their aims and context. These may also develop over time as the group evolves. The language used in describing and naming networks can also be crucial in their success and who joins.

However you approach staff networks in your organisation it is important to remember that an effective staff network is one that is run by staff for the benefit of staff.

Being Conscious About Our Unconscious Biases

What is Unconscious Bias

The term ‘cognitive bias’ was coined by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman in 1972 which quite simply means “our tendency to filter information, process facts and arrive at judgements based on our past experiences, likes/dislikes and automatic influences.”

How do these biases show up in Leadership?

A lot of leadership is about taking decisions involving group of people. Instinctive leaders often tend to decide quickly based on limited information or experience they have at hand. The result is that they end up taking wrong decisions (which may have worked for them in past but may not work in a different context), or discriminating with people of a certain colour, race, sex or nationality based on their past experiences with similar people. At work, biases (or the perception of bias) is the biggest contributor to people disengagement and cost of disengagement is huge. Lack of critical thinking also leads to short-termism where decisions are taken for immediate gains and solutions of today become thorny problems of tomorrow.

Some Ways to Deal with Unconscious Bias

Get Conscious. Be more aware about unconscious cognitive biases. Knowing that they exist is the first important step to tackling them. And they exist in plenty. Here is a list of all unconscious biases and what they really mean.
Ask questions, often. When considering a decision, ask questions that elicit understanding and clarify details. When you ask questions, you extend an opportunity to others to really express them. You are extending an opportunity to yourself to understand their thinking more closely. Encourage a culture where asking questions is valued.

Look for Patterns. Data over a period of time reveals patterns. Looking for patterns from the results of past decision can lead to important insights and learning. Sometimes data can blind us unless we learn to look at the pattern and story behind the data.

Look for the contrary. It helps playing a devil’s advocate and taking a contrarian view of things. It not only challenges others to think harder but also helps you in really understanding if they are just defending their own biases.

Embrace Diversity. This starts with hiring decisions. Don’t hire people whose beliefs are compliant with yours. You will tap into diverse ideas and viewpoints only when you have people with diverse thinking patterns on your team.

Attend to data and evidences. When you ask your people to bring data, evidences and trends, it does not mean lack of trust. It only means that you are intentional about serving them better by taking the right decisions.

Communicate clearly. Clear and accurate communication is a leader’s tool #1. Avoid using generic terms to describe people, situations and things. Biases are most commonly visible in how a leader communicates. Being mindful about our words is critical to thinking and communicating objectively.

Thanks go to Tanmay Vora for this excellent and concise explanation of what ‘unconscious bias’ is and how we can combat it in the workplace.

Transgender Day of Remembrance

On November 20th it was Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) an annual observance that honours the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honour the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all the transgender people lost to violence since Rita Hester’s death, and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

This year, there have been 331 known killings of trans people worldwide that Stonewall and other LGBTQ+ communities and organisations around the world will remember. Sadly, these numbers include the murder of Amy Griffiths, a 51 year old trans woman, in Droitwitch, Worcestershire, in January of this year
Every life taken has its own devastating circumstances but it is possible to observe that the vast majority of those killed are trans women and transfeminine people of colour. The Trans Murder Monitoring Project noted that, of those whose professions were known, 61% of murdered trans people this year worked as sex workers.

In Europe, the majority of murdered trans women were migrant trans women. Many murders of trans people occur in circumstances including poverty, racism, anti-immigrant and anti-sex worker sentiment and misogyny, which deprive some trans communities of resources and protection and make certain kinds of trans person especially vulnerable to male violence.

Sadly, some trans people – particularly women – are most at risk of fatal violence from cis male intimate partners, such as boyfriends. The stigma, family rejection, limited employment opportunities and social isolation experienced by many trans people can leave them particularly vulnerable to abuse in relationships.

In many cases, violence against trans people is also driven by toxic ideals of masculinity founded on homophobia and biphobia. On Trans Day of Remembrance, many of us, whether cis or trans, can reflect on how we can work together to end gender-based violence, harassment and discrimination in all their forms.

The Gender Pay Gap

Equality & Diversity initiatives are designed to redress the balance where decades of inequality have led to high levels of disparity in the workplace. Gender Pay Gap reporting is no different and the Equality Act 2010 makes it a statutory duty for organisations with more than 250 employees to report on their gender pay gap, which looks to redress the long standing percentage difference between average hourly earnings for men and women. Currently, the national average mean gender pay gap is 17.9%, which indicates – on average – woman in the UK earn 17.9% less than men. In fact, the Guardian (April 2019) reported that a quarter of companies and public sector bodies have a pay gap of more than 20% in favour of men. However, according to the Financial Times (23 April 2019), Government policymakers hoped the transparency would shame large employers into taking swift action to narrow the difference between what they pay men and women.

What is the Gender Pay Gap?

The gender pay gap shows the difference between the average (mean or median) earnings of men and women. This is expressed as a percentage of men’s earnings e.g. women earn 15% less than men. Used to its full potential, gender pay gap reporting is a valuable tool for assessing levels of equality in the workplace, female and male participation, and how effectively talent is being maximised.

What is the difference between the gender pay gap and equal pay?

It’s worth noting that a gender pay gap isn’t the same as unequal pay. Equal pay – where men and women doing the same job should be paid the same – has been a legal requirement for nearly fifty years. Under the Equal Pay Act 1970, and more recently, the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful to pay people unequally because they are a man or a woman. This applies to all employers, no matter how small. As such, a company might have a gender pay gap if a majority of men are in top jobs, despite paying male and female employees the same amount for similar roles.

The gender pay gap shows the differences in the average pay between men and women. If a workplace has a particularly high gender pay gap, this can indicate there may be a number of issues to deal with, and the individual calculations may help to identify what those issues are. In some cases, the gender pay gap may include unlawful inequality in pay but this is not necessarily the case.

What is the Median pay gap?

The median pay gap is the difference in pay between the middle-ranking woman and the middle-ranking man.

If you place all the men and women working at a company into two lines in order of salary, the median pay gap will be the difference in salary between the woman in the middle of her line and the man in the middle of his.

What is the Mean pay gap?

The mean pay gap is the difference between a company’s total wage spend-per-woman and its total spend-per-man.

The number is calculated by taking the total wage bill for each and dividing it by the number of men and women employed by the organisation.

Why is there a Gender Pay Gap?

According to the BBC, there’s no one reason behind the gender pay gap – it’s a complex issue.

The Fawcett Society, a group which campaigns for equality, says caring responsibilities can play a big part. Women often care for young children or elderly relatives. This means women are more likely to work in part-time roles, which are often lower paid or have fewer opportunities for progression. Another important factor is a divided labour market. Women are still more likely to work in lower-paid and lower-skilled jobs. Women currently make up 62% of those earning less than the living wage, according to the Living Wage Foundation. Discrimination is another cause of the gender pay gap. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (ECHR) has previously found that one in nine new mothers were either dismissed, made redundant or treated so poorly they felt they had to leave their job. This can create a gap in experience, leading to lower wages when women return to work.

Men also tend to take up the majority of the most senior roles at a company, which are the highest paid.

Who has to publish Gender Pay Gap data?

As stated earlier, it is a legal requirement for all employers (with 250 or more employees) to publish their gender pay report within one year of the ‘snapshot’ date: this year’s date being 31st March 2019. However, whilst all employers must comply with the reporting regulations – for employers whose headcount varies they must comply with the reporting regulations for any year where they had a headcount of 250 or more employees on the ‘snapshot’ date.

What information needs to be published?

The following information must be reported by organisations:

Their mean gender pay gap
Their median gender pay gap
Their mean bonus gender pay gap
Their median bonus gender pay gap
Their proportion of males receiving a bonus payment
Their proportion of females receiving a bonus payment
Their proportion of males and females in each quartile pay band
A written statement, authorised by an appropriate senior person, which confirms the accuracy of their calculations. However, this requirement only applies to employers subject to the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017.

Can companies be punished for a wide gender pay gap?

According to Lorna Jones, Business Reporter, BBC News, companies can’t be punished for a wide gender pay gap. But they might be punished for failing to publish their data, or for publishing inaccurate or misleading figures.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for ensuring employers publish their pay gap figures. The EHRC set out plans for its enforcement policy in December. The EHRC says it will approach employers informally at first, but businesses could ultimately face “unlimited fines and convictions”.

As the EHRC is still consulting on these plans, it remains to be seen whether they can or will punish companies in this way. At the moment, there is no enforcement mechanism in the regulations on publishing pay gap data. The UK government says it will also publish sector-specific league tables, highlighting companies failing to address pay differences between men and women.

What can organisations do to reduce the Gender Pay Gap?

According to Dharishini David, Economics Correspondent with the BBC, gender pay gap reporting may not be enough: the government may need to get tougher. Ask gender pay specialists how to solve the problem and they’ll tell you there are many initiatives that companies can take – tackling unconscious bias, offering more flexible working and encouraging shared parental leave.

However, the issue doesn’t end at the office door. The experts say society needs to change.

For example, schools could encourage girls to take more STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering and maths. There should be more flexible, affordable childcare options. And men could take on more of the household chores.

However, societal change takes time, sometimes a generation, and currently we can report on the organisations gender pay gaps and look for short term internal solutions but overall society needs to change its attitude to gender, specifically in relation to employment, if we are to have pay equality across gender.

Advancing Equality for Disabled Staff – Learning from the NHS

Workplace equality and diversity initiatives have grown in recent years and have focused on a range of protected characteristics identified in the Equality Act 2010. However, much of that focus has been on Race, Sexual Orientation, Gender Reassignment and Religion. Yet, disability affects almost one if five of the UK population and statistically disabled people are more likely to be unemployed or economically inactive.

Primarily, the Equality Act 2010 should focus our work on advancing equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it as well as fostering good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.

Disability is still often misunderstood, especially in the case of mental health, and getting a better understanding of the lived experiences of our disabled staff must be a priority for employers. Only by having this understanding and input from staff can we actually advance equality of opportunity for disabled staff in the work place. Furthermore, by raising awareness of disability issues we can encourage organisational wide discussion and foster good relations between people with a disability and those without.

Some facts about disabilities in the UK:

There are around 13.3 million disabled people in the UK (almost one in five of the population).
5 million disabled people are in employment, compared to 2.9 million in 2013.
In January 2016, the UK employment rate among working age disabled people was 46.5% (4.1 million), compared to 84% of non-disabled people.
Disabled adults are nearly three times as likely as non-disabled adults to have no formal qualifications, 30% and 11% respectively.
The average income of families with disabled children is £15,270, which is 23.5% below the UK mean income of £19,968. 21.8% have incomes that are less than 50% the UK mean.

NHS England launches the Workforce Disability Standard (WDES)

The NHS has recently launched the Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES) which is a set of ten specific measures (metrics) that will enable NHS organisations to compare the experiences of Disabled and non-disabled staff. This information will then be used by the relevant NHS organisation to develop a local action plan, and enable them to demonstrate progress against the indicators of disability equality.

Making a difference for disabled staff

The NHS employs close to 1.5 million people and so initiatives such as WDES are vital to better understand the experiences of their disabled staff. It will support positive change for existing employees, and enable a more inclusive environment for disabled people working in the NHS. Likewise, it will help identify good practice and compare performance regionally and by type of trust.

What can other sectors learn from the NHS Workforce Disability Equality Standard?

Large organisations need a snapshot of the experiences of their disabled staff in key areas. By providing comparative data between disabled and non-disabled staff, this information can be used to understand where key differences lie; and will provide the basis for the development of action plans, enabling organisations to track progress on a year by year basis. This provides a mirror for the organisation to hold up to itself, to see whether or not it sees a reflection of the communities that it serves.

Discrimination in the Workplace

Discrimination is where an individual or group of individuals are treated differently due to their perceived membership of a certain group or social category. For example, an individual or group of individuals may suffer discrimination because they are from the Travelling Community. Under the Equality Act 2010, is it unlawful to discriminate against any individual (or group) based upon any of the protected characteristics. In the workplace, this can take many forms including, for example, black workers not being offered the same opportunity as white workers, women being paid less than men for doing the same job but can include age, colour, convictions, height, disability, ethnicity, family status, gender identity, genetic characteristics, marital status, nationality, race, religion, sex or sexual orientation.

Direct Discrimination

Direct discrimination is where an individual is treated differently or worse than others for certain reasons, it is often easy to spot such as being refused entry to a hotel because you are gay. The Citizens Advice Bureau describes direct discrimination through the following example: ‘You’re a saleswoman and you inform your employer that you want to spend the rest of your life living as a man. As a result of this, you’re moved to a role without client contact against your wishes. This is less favourable treatment because of gender reassignment. It would still be less favourable treatment even if your employer were to increase your salary to make up for the loss of job status.’

Indirect Discrimination

However, there are other times when you appear to be treated equally and in the same way as others but it actually has a worse impact on you because of who you are. This is known as indirect discrimination where a workplace practice, policy or rule applies to all but it has a worse effect on some than others. The Citizens Advice Bureau describes indirect discrimination through the following example: ‘A health club only accepts customers who are on the electoral register. This applies to all customers in the same way. But Gypsies and Travellers are less likely to be on the electoral register and therefore they’ll find it more difficult to join. This could be indirect discrimination against Gypsies and Travellers because of the protected characteristic of race. The rule seems fair, but it has a worse effect on this particular group of people.’

Justifying Discrimination

Not all discrimination is unlawful, if an employer treats you unfairly because of who you are they might have a good enough reason but may have to justify their discrimination. The Citizens Advice Bureau describes justifying discrimination through the following example: ‘A hospital advertises a surgeon’s job for which it requires at least ten years’ experience. You can’t meet this requirement because you’ve taken time off work to care for your children. As you’re a woman, this looks like indirect discrimination because of sex. But the hospital may be able to justify this, if it can show that the job can’t be done properly without that amount of experience. This is likely to be a legitimate aim.’

Invisible banana skins thrown at black people every day, says John Barnes

Is racism in sport something that the education sector can tackle?

The football charity Kick it Out, football’s equality and inclusion organisation, work extensively with clubs and fan community groups to reduce racism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination through its education programmes.

However, by targeting a captive audience, so to speak, can schools, colleges and universities help organisations, like Kick it Out, challenge racism in sport? As an experienced educator, I am confident that racism is comprehensively challenged in classrooms up and down the country. However, if our educational institutions challenge racism when they hear it… it asks further questions as to why sports professionals are still subjected to racism from people who have been through our educational system. That said, as an experienced equality, diversity and inclusion professional, I am not confident that all workplaces in England would effectively challenge racist attitudes if they heard it in the workplace. As such, if racism is not challenged in the workplace as much as it should be then it is left solely to our educational institutions to drive an zero tolerance policy on racial abuse and racism in general.

More importantly, education is what is needed to help dispel racist attitudes and negative stereotypes amongst those learning skills for the workplace. In that way, we slowly influence the workplace where old fashioned racist attitudes can be challenged and hopefully diminished. A further knock on effect of this would be the impact it has on those who attend sporting events. That said, will sports fans themselves ever be in a position to feel suitably empowered to challenge racist abuse when they hear it in the stands?

Racism in sport recently hit the headlines again with extensive national press coverage when Raheem Sterling was allegedly on the receiving end of racial abuse during his side’s 2-0 defeat at Chelsea. It’s worth noting that in this situation Raheem Sterling is at work and as such is entitled to protection from harassment under the Equality Act 2010. Subsequently, if the allegations are found to be true, the player was racially abused at work and Chelsea football club are duty bound to investigate the incident and report there findings, taking appropriate action where appropriate.

Below is an thought-provoking article from Mandeep Sanghera, BBC Sport, highlighting the similarities between Raheem Sterling’s recent experience at Stamford Bridge and that of fellow Jamaican-born England international John Barns. Barnes famously back heeled a banana skin off the pitch in a game at Everton in 1988 and tells BBC Sport that the problem has not gone away since his playing days.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46504433

Grammar schools given £50m diversity cash have only 2% poor pupils

The Governments drive to demonstrate its commitment to diversity in our schools has rather lost its way in recent years. For example, 16 grammar schools have won a share of a £50 Million expansion fund and yet, according to an analysis by the House of Commons Library, they have some of the worst records of admitting disadvantaged pupils.

The schools in receipt of the extra funding were announced last week and in order to qualify for the additional funding they had to submit a plan that would demonstrate how they would increase the proportion of poorer pupils in their schools. It’s worth remembering that grammar schools are not supposed to be for the privileged only, the private education sector is there to cater for those privileged enough to be able to pay for their children’s education.

However, figures on the schools’ admission of poor children has cast doubt on whether they were as committed to diversifying their intake as they claimed. These figures demonstrated that, on average, only 2% of pupils at the 16 approved schools were eligible for free school meals, which is generally considered the measure of child poverty in schools. For balance, it’s worth noting that, on average, pupils claiming free school meals at all schools in England is around 15%, with annual variations around this figure.

So, how do we tackle the lack of diversity in our grammar schools? Do we allow them to continue to be elitist institutions where entry is based on privilege rather than ability? To those who would argue that grammar schools have an entrance test and so are selective only on ability and not financial circumstances I would ask in that case how do you defend the position that only 2% of pupils in these schools come from a poor background? Is there a suggestion that poor pupils are not bright, are not academic, or not capable of learning at a grammar school level? Or, is this further evidence that the entry system to some of our grammar schools is flawed and based, in some cases, more on privilege that we like to admit?

If we are to ensure that our schooling system, both grammar schools and the academies, are to meet the needs of future generations then we need to ensure that school pupils experience diversity from a young age so they are adequately prepared for the work force of the future.

If we continue to endorse an elitist grammar system, where only the privileged can attended, then we further perpetuate the problems that we currently have in our society. As such, rather than challenge issues of inclusion, ignorance, acceptance and tolerance we naively allow the problems to carry on for a future generation to resolve.

What are your thoughts on this? Should grammar schools be forced to increase diversity in their ranks or should the grammar school system continue to be a stronghold of the well off in society? Answers on a postcard….