Kevin Rowan column

Apr 10 2006 By Kevin Rowan, The Journal

One of the Government's objectives is to improve the participation of black women in the economy.

It even has an Ethnic Minority and Employment task force in place to see that it happens. It is highly likely that black women will form a substantial number of new workers coming into the labour market in the next 10 years, due principally to demographics.

But, according to current figures, black and Asian women are more likely to be out of work, have more problems finding a suitable job, and when they do, often have to settle for work which is way below their capacity or qualifications, according to a report published by the TUC, Black Women and Employment.

Released before last weekend's annual TUC Black Workers Conference, the report says that the unemployment rate among black women (5.4%) is almost twice that of white women (2.9%), and it is only slightly lower among Asian women (4.8%). There are suggestions that this difference is down to cultural barriers, and claims especially that Muslim women are more likely to want to stay at home. However, the report says that young Bangladeshi and Pakistani women starting work were, in fact, more likely to identify career progression as being important than their white friends.

Equal Opportunities Commission research also found that over half of Pakistani and black Caribbean women aged 16-34 said they often found it difficult getting a job, and half of Bangladeshi women often or sometimes struggled to find work. This compared to just over a third of white British women who said that finding work was sometimes a problem.

Of the same young women who struggled to find employment, while just over one in 20 of the white British women (6%) said they'd ended up taking a job below their skill levels, almost a quarter (22%) of Pakistani women had accepted jobs for which they were over qualified.

It is difficult sometimes to identify cause and effect, but it does seem apparent that black women are doubly discriminated against, because of their gender and because of their race. There is no moral case for inequality in the labour market and there is increasingly an economic case against it.

To accelerate fairness at work, the Government should use its purchasing power to drive forward equality, using public procurement to encourage employers to adopt strong equalities policies, which should apply to all employers, improving equality of access to employment and training opportun-ities for all workers.