Post by Nadica (She/Her) on Dec 11, 2024 4:10:05 GMT
Racism, belonging and COVID's legacy of ethnic inequalities in Scotland: A report of the Evidence for Equality National Survey - Published Dec 11, 2024
Introduction
Scotland’s population is becoming more ethnically diverse. Today, 13% of the population identify with an ethnic group other than White Scottish or White British, an increase of 8% from the beginning of the 20th Century.
The nation is richer in multiple ways from this diversity. Yet, it is also evident that inequalities between ethnic groups are stark and persistent, and this was highlighted by the uneven impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Indeed, Public Health Scotland has recognised the particularly adverse experiences of ethnic minorities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and has called for better data and evidence to understand and address this. Scottish Government research has detailed how people from (non-white) ethnic minority groups are more likely to be in relative poverty than White British/ Other groups, with over half of Asian and Black groups in Scotland living in poverty.
Scottish Government, alongside other organisations, has an explicit commitment to race equality and anti-racism that is articulated in the Race Equality Framework 2016-2030. The aim is for a ‘fairer Scotland’, “where people are healthier, happier and treated with respect, and where opportunities, wealth and power are spread more equally”, to be “achieved equally for people from all ethnicities” vi. Core aspects of achieving this aim are to improve understanding of ethnic inequalities and their drivers, and to enhance the data landscape for achieving race equality.
In July 2024, the Scottish Human Rights Commission submission to the United Nations Committee on Racial Discrimination (CERD) also highlighted the need to have better data and monitoring of experiences of racism in Scotland, including institutional racism, and better data and evidence to monitor experiences of racism. The report also recommended that Scottish Government develop a race equality strategy which clearly articulates how it will progress the Race Equality Framework 2016-2030vii.
This is, therefore, a timely moment to review experiences of ethnic minorities in Scotland.
This report makes a novel contribution in two ways. First, it presents new data – the Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) – which illuminates dimensions of ethnic inequalities for which data are not usually available. Second, it is the result of a cross-sector collaboration – to produce the data and analyse it in this report – between University researchers from the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) and the Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector, via BEMIS. This collaboration enhances the relevance and timeliness of the evidence presented here.
This is not a comprehensive review of ethnic inequalities. The aim is to highlight aspects of inequalities – Covid’s legacy, racism, belonging and political trust – that are hitherto overlooked in research and to thus motivate debates in new directions. We hope that this report can be part of the reignition of evidence-based race equality action in Scotland.
Introduction
Scotland’s population is becoming more ethnically diverse. Today, 13% of the population identify with an ethnic group other than White Scottish or White British, an increase of 8% from the beginning of the 20th Century.
The nation is richer in multiple ways from this diversity. Yet, it is also evident that inequalities between ethnic groups are stark and persistent, and this was highlighted by the uneven impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Indeed, Public Health Scotland has recognised the particularly adverse experiences of ethnic minorities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and has called for better data and evidence to understand and address this. Scottish Government research has detailed how people from (non-white) ethnic minority groups are more likely to be in relative poverty than White British/ Other groups, with over half of Asian and Black groups in Scotland living in poverty.
Scottish Government, alongside other organisations, has an explicit commitment to race equality and anti-racism that is articulated in the Race Equality Framework 2016-2030. The aim is for a ‘fairer Scotland’, “where people are healthier, happier and treated with respect, and where opportunities, wealth and power are spread more equally”, to be “achieved equally for people from all ethnicities” vi. Core aspects of achieving this aim are to improve understanding of ethnic inequalities and their drivers, and to enhance the data landscape for achieving race equality.
In July 2024, the Scottish Human Rights Commission submission to the United Nations Committee on Racial Discrimination (CERD) also highlighted the need to have better data and monitoring of experiences of racism in Scotland, including institutional racism, and better data and evidence to monitor experiences of racism. The report also recommended that Scottish Government develop a race equality strategy which clearly articulates how it will progress the Race Equality Framework 2016-2030vii.
This is, therefore, a timely moment to review experiences of ethnic minorities in Scotland.
This report makes a novel contribution in two ways. First, it presents new data – the Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) – which illuminates dimensions of ethnic inequalities for which data are not usually available. Second, it is the result of a cross-sector collaboration – to produce the data and analyse it in this report – between University researchers from the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) and the Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector, via BEMIS. This collaboration enhances the relevance and timeliness of the evidence presented here.
This is not a comprehensive review of ethnic inequalities. The aim is to highlight aspects of inequalities – Covid’s legacy, racism, belonging and political trust – that are hitherto overlooked in research and to thus motivate debates in new directions. We hope that this report can be part of the reignition of evidence-based race equality action in Scotland.