By: Nyla Naseer, the founder of Advance Merit, a higher education and professional career tutor agency. @advmerit, Facebook.com/advancemerit
In the past couple of years, graduates have been streaming into good jobs at a healthy pace, a welcome change from the bleak prospects that graduates faced during the recession. Recent starting salaries are quoted as being in the order of £28K (according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters, which surveys the top 100 graduate recruiters)—not to be sniffed at. Yet, behind this rosy statistic lies a picture of stark inequality.
In the past couple of years, graduates have been streaming into good jobs at a healthy pace, a welcome change from the bleak prospects that graduates faced during the recession. Recent starting salaries are quoted as being in the order of £28K (according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters, which surveys the top 100 graduate recruiters)—not to be sniffed at. Yet, behind this rosy statistic lies a picture of stark inequality.
Firstly, ethnic minority graduates in general are less
likely to be in full-time employment than white graduates six months after
graduating. The Institute for Social and
Economic Research at the University of Essex for the Observer found that
British ethnic minority graduates are between 5% and 15% less likely to be
employed than their white British class-fellows.
Pakistani and Bangladeshi graduates were particularly
disadvantaged. According to ‘Race into Work’ (Business in the Community)
Bangladeshi students were also more likely to end up in lower-paid and
part-time work, which makes progress up the career ladder difficult.
Secondly, ethnic minority graduates in work earn
significantly less than white graduates with the same qualifications, with the
TUC saying that the pay gap between ethnic minorities and white people with the
same qualifications actually greater for people with degrees compared to those
with just ‘A’ Levels. The Observer study found that things are worse for ethnic
minority women graduates. What’s more things get worse over time. Immediately
after graduate the gap is 7-10%; three and a half years after graduation, most
categories of ethnic minority women graduates will earn 12% to 15% less than
white British graduates.
Thirdly, if you live in a disadvantaged area after your
degree things are particularly bleak. The Resolution Foundation found that the
employment gap between the best and worst performing regions of the UK was 11%,
but for black, Asian and minority-ethnic (BAME) people the figure was 26%.
If ethnic minority graduates can’t access first jobs that
meet their level of ability or if they are limited to part-time, insecure and
poorly-paid roles, this has a profound impact upon their lifetime earning
potential. Infact, students who can’t find a job on graduation end up having
lifetime incomes 20-25% less than graduates who are immediately employed.
Ending up performing tasks under your ability is also very frustrating and
soul-destroying, as any bright person will tell you.
The reasons behind the disparities are beyond the scope of
this article and ultimately depend on recruitment bias unconscious and
conscious being tackled at all levels. However, it is interesting that, in the
past, the rationale for black and ethnic minority people to end up in less-good
jobs included our ‘lack of qualifications’ compared to white peers. This is now
not only untrue but, as I’ve shown, actually the converse of current reality.
Full author bio:
Nyla has an LLM (Master of Law) degree, an MSc in Regeneration, a first degree in Management Science and a PGCE. Nyla has a focus on enabling people achieve their academic and professional ambitions and is the founder of Advance Merit, a higher education and professional career tutor agency. Social media accounts https://twitter.com/advmerit https://www.facebook.com/advancemerit https://www.linkedin.com/in/nrnaseer Website: http://advancemerit.uk
Full author bio:
Nyla has an LLM (Master of Law) degree, an MSc in Regeneration, a first degree in Management Science and a PGCE. Nyla has a focus on enabling people achieve their academic and professional ambitions and is the founder of Advance Merit, a higher education and professional career tutor agency. Social media accounts https://twitter.com/advmerit https://www.facebook.com/advancemerit https://www.linkedin.com/in/nrnaseer Website: http://advancemerit.uk
Graduate Prospects and the Shocking Inequality for Ethnic Minorities
Reviewed by Admin
on
17:10
Rating:
![Graduate Prospects and the Shocking Inequality for Ethnic Minorities](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTTmV7mWXjNAIzhnXPs2gY2nA5JAIEkKR-nL9WFpdCIql796oy36d8qovgmwcIbBTxyf3Uk42mHOPsilt0MIueyhOuJb64LyP-FGC9hWBhUuhajLt8pkvCVYokkxoUF_1BMpRT-4_FPc8/s72-c/Graduates.jpg)
No comments:
Share your views here! But read our Comment Policy first, found on the about page.