Patterns of PrejudiceDebbie Weekes-BernardHead of Research
Social mixing and contact
•Quality of contact is important, but also social and politicalnarrative as well as structural inequality
•The characteristics of those mixing are important
•The space in which mixing occurs is also important
-British Social Attitudes Survey
-Generation 3.0
-School Choice & Ethnic Segregation
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Can narratives change attitudes?
Yes, but often only temporarily
•The British Social Attitudes Survey reported that the percentage ofpeople who describe themselves as prejudiced has risen since 2001
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Key Narratives…
contribute to increases in racial prejudice:
•Immigration
•Islamophobia
•Austerity
For example there is a relationship between those more likely to holdracially prejudicial attitudes and their view on immigration
• 92% of those who report having some racial prejudice think immigrationshould be reduced compared to 72% of those reporting no prejudicialattitude.
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And characteristics?
•Those more likely than others to report the holding of prejudicialattitudes are men, from both un and skilled manual occupations,.
•However the narrative effects of austerity/unemployment arethat an increase in unemployment by 1% leads middle aged highlyeducated men in full time employment to self-report an increasein prejudicial attitudes by 4.1 percentage points. (Johnston &Lordan, 2014)
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Why is location important?
•54% of Londoners have a more positive view of immigration incomparison to 28% in the rest of the UK.
•London itself is an area which is clearly superdiverse - 37% of thoseliving in the city of London were born outside of the UK, whichcompares to 13% across England and Wales and in the Europeanelections held earlier this year, UKIP support in the city was poor.
•But the West Midlands, in which Birmingham is situated, has highnumbers of those reporting prejudicial attitudes – 35% compared to anational figure of 25%
•The West midlands however has high rates of unemployment and evenin Birmingham, outside of the city centre social mixing very rarelytakes place
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Generational?
•“Young people don’t feel the difference. Older generations still feel likewe’re the foreigners in this country” Sudarshan, 70
•Runnymede work in Birmingham – fine until events were held inHandsworth.
•Handsworth Wood – Black Caribbean, 16%; Asian 51.5%
•East Handsworth & Lozells – Black Caribbean 21.9%, Asian 60.1%
•Birmingham – White British 53.1%, Pakistani 13.5%, Indian 6%, BlackCaribbean 4%
•Unemployment high at start of recession in Ladywood, Sparkbrook &Small Heath (Danny Dorling 2007)
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Social mixing
•ethnic communities are becoming less, not more segregated andminority ethnic groups are becoming less concentrated – those ofAfrican descent for example are very dispersed
•schools were more ethnically segregated than the geographicalareas they were situated in
•Increased choice of school enables ‘flight’ to occur – parents whocan afford to do so move away from a minority ethnic ‘other’ –parents and children with English as a second language, ethnicallysegregated schools, diverse geographical spaces
•Parents from low socio-economic backgrounds choose local schools –where these schools are situated in urban, ethnically diverse areas,often these schools will include high proportions of minority ethnicpupils schools
•Black children currently travel the furthest of all children toattend school, often in schools that are majority white, perceivedto be ‘better’ but which are not necessarily so.
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Recommendations
•Mixing, and contact is important as is the quality, the frequency, thecharacteristics of the individual mixing and the place in which mixingoccurs.
•Catchment areas for schools should be changed regularly to reflect bothethnic and social mixing where possible, as migration, both internationaland within the UK, changes the make-up of neighbourhoods and affectsthe composition of pupil populations.
•Generational contact is also important – older individuals from settledcommunities learn much from younger people, particularly where thisyouth is found within their own families. New attempts at enforcedmixing (social activities etc) may not necessarily be as successful forolder groups, but are not impossible
•Urban areas can both promote and hinder mixing ie London andBirmingham. Additional structural inequalities affect both opportunitiesfor mixing but also attitudes towards others. Unemployment, skills etcare barriers.
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