Working Lives Research Institute
Dr Sonia McKay, Amar Dhudwar, Dr Siddig ElZailaee, Dr Ali Tasiran and Professor Steve Jefferys
January 2004 - August 2006
Currently, unemployment among refugees of working age is around 36%, which
is six times the national average. For ethnic minorities the unemployment
rate is two and a half times greater than the white population at 11.3 %.
Despite it being commonplace for employers to make statements relating to
equal opportunities and race equality in employment practices, existing research
has consistently shown that ethnic minorities and refugees face multiple barriers
to employment and inequalities in the labour market in the form of direct
and indirect discrimination, which are economically and socially costly to
society as a whole.
This major ESF funded project compares the experiences of labour market discrimination faced by refugees and Black and minority ethnic workers (BME). It is looking at the initiatives and actions taken by BME communities to combat their discrimination and explores the how the lessons learned by settled migrant communities can be usefully adapted for more recently arrived communities.
The research is being carried out in London, Birmingham and Slough, with a longitudinal comparative study of 60 refugees, matched for gender, age and skill levels with 60 Black and ethnic minority workers The project will showcase good practice and policy examples together with successful training and support initiatives, enabling the economic integration of BME and refugee communities.
During the first stage of the project (January - April
2004) project researchers made contact with a number of organisations. In
the second phase (from May to October 2004) researchers conducted more than
80 face-to-face interviews with refugees. A third major phase of the project
began in March 2005 with a second round of interviews with the refugee group
and a round of interviews with a matched UK BME group. This phase of interviews
was completed by the end of November 2005. A final phase of interviews with
the refugee group begins in January 2006.
In September 2005 the Commission for Racial Equality hosted
a policy makers’ workshop where reserachers presented the first findings
from the research. The workshop focused on discrimination in employment and
on the equal opportunities polices and how they relate to the needs of refugees.
A second workshop, focusing on training for and in work will be held in March
2006.
UPDATE: (JULY 2009): The film produced at the end of this project 'All by myself', is now available to watch live or as a download from here. You can also order DVD copies from: workinglives@londonmet.ac.uk