Seven in ten (71) young people with ethnic minorities have experienced workplace discrimination or on the labour market.
Nearly half (46%) have faced discrimination at work when dealing with clients/customers.
Eight out of ten (84) young ethnic minorities are concerned about obstacles or challenges related to their ethnicity and background when it comes time to find work or employment.
Over half of young Blacks (55%) believe that employers undervalue their abilities due to their ethnicity.
When is it most likely that they will experience discrimination?
Most participants experienced discrimination when engaging with clients or customers, especially young Black people and Black men.
Seven out of ten participants reported some form or workplace discrimination. This result highlighted the concern about future prospects at work.
Lord Simon Woolley, Non-Executive Director at Youth Futures, comments:
These alarming findings reveal the extent of racism that young Black, Asian, and minority ethnic people experience, which is compounded by cost of living pressures.
The House of Lords Youth Unemployment Committee recommended that the Government create a Race Equality Strategy for Education and Workplace to eliminate the additional barriers faced by these young people. This includes mandating regular data collection and giving tailored career guidance to every young person who faces disadvantage.
To tackle this issue we plan to spend an additional PS5 million on innovative partnerships based in local areas that will address the challenges faced by young Black, Asian, and minority ethnic people at the local level.
Matthew Poole said:
The research and insights generated by the YEG Ethnic Disparities Subgroup inform our investments. We plan to increase the Connected Futures flagship programme in order to connect youth employment services at local levels.
“We base everything we do on solid evidence that what works.” We take what we learn from the projects that we fund and use it to create a lasting systemic change.
“More needs to be done on a national scale.” We’re asking the government to provide an Opportunity Guarantee, and allocate additional dormant asset funding to boost youth unemployment.
Isha, Future Voices Group Ambassador, comments:
“As a British Pakistani Muslim, I know first-hand the devastating impact that the widespread discrimination in the workplace and education can have on the career aspirations of young people. No young person should be forced to overcome racism. It is alarming, but not surprising to learn that 2/5 of young people with ethnic minorities experienced discrimination in the job application process. “More needs to be achieved to help young people with backgrounds of ethnic minorities achieve their dream job and feel valued by society.”
