Labour Market Disadvantage: Gender and Ethnic Minorities

Introduction

Gender and ethnic background are among the most influential factors affecting people in the labour market. Perceived differences and stereotypes related to these groups are so deeply embedded that many selection decisions are made with these stereotypes held in unconscious decision-making. For example, even before an initial interview, selection preferences can be made simply based on a candidate's name—whether it is coded as feminine or associated with an ethnic background. Even in organizations that make a conscious effort to promote equality and diversity, instances of discrimination can occur without anyone realizing it. This complex nature of equality leads to labour market disadvantage for women and people with ethnic backgrounds on a variety of fronts. This analysis outlines the ways in which discriminatory practices are institutionalized and how they disadvantage groups such as women and ethnic minorities.

Forms and Visibility of Discrimination

Many forms of discrimination occur in daily life, and many of these go unnoticed. The most common forms generally occur along the lines of race, gender, social status, or similar superficially derived groupings. Categories that divide different groups are more salient when they are easily perceived—as in the case of gender and race. Other forms of discrimination, such as those based on religious preferences, can be more readily hidden in an organizational setting. However, divisions in race and gender are easily apparent and hold significant implications for organizations.

The UK workforce and society in general are predicted to continue diversifying among racial groups. Although all institutions are aware of these demographic trends, many different interventions have been conducted and recommended to promote equality and diversity. It has been estimated that roughly two-thirds of companies have some form of diversity training in their organizations. However, many of these programs have been implemented with limited effectiveness, and relatively little empirical research has been conducted to evaluate such programs or examine their effectiveness from a theoretical perspective (Chrobot-Mason, 2012).

One study identified that the absorptive capacity for knowledge transfer is correlated with employees' abilities and willingness to learn (Minbaeva, et al., 2003). Thus, if the current workforce does not perceive value in training programs, there could be resistance. If cultural diversity training is ignored, significant resistance may arise in cross-cultural communication and related organizational factors (Grosse, 2002).

Gender Disparities Across Industries and Education

Previous generations of research focused on gender and race issues in the labour market in isolation. According to Acker (2006, p. 442), "gender and racial inequalities in organisations have focused on one or another of these categories, rarely attempting to study them as complex, mutually reinforcing or contradicting processes." This isolation of categories makes it impossible to address issues affecting people within these categories comprehensively. Newer research has attempted to examine diversity from a more comprehensive perspective that considers complex relationships between different equality measures.

The British Armed Forces has adopted a comprehensive strategy to enlist more recruits from ethnic minority communities. Gender issues have begun to receive widespread political attention (Ishaq & Hussain, 2004). Despite the Armed Forces' efforts, there has been relatively limited interest from target demographics. The reasons women cite for not joining the Armed Forces match those of ethnic minority males, with the exception that women are much more concerned with professional issues—such as the tough nature of training and strict disciplinary codes (Ishaq & Hussain, 2004).

Similar evidence has been found in other traditionally male enterprises. The construction sector in the UK has a long history of employing women in a wide range of tasks, yet significant obstacles remain to fuller employment of women—not only in UK construction but also in other EU countries (Briscoe, 2005). Minorities in this industry have fared better than women in achieving equality. For example, the London construction labour market employs more ethnic minority workers than the rest of the UK in total. The culture in the construction industry appears more open to ethnic minorities than to women.

Despite women outperforming men academically in many industrialized nations, systematic discrimination persists. Educational attainment has increased drastically over past decades, yet women still lag behind men on several accounts. In countries such as Switzerland, which have been relatively progressive in promoting equality, women still earn nearly twenty percent less than men and are underrepresented in many top organizational positions. Women have more difficulty translating their academic credentials into labour market positions and face less opportunity for advancement (Buckmann & Malti, 2012).

Another study examined the penetration of women into science, engineering, and technology (SET) jobs in the UK and Ireland to assess evidence for gender segregation. While women are well represented in subjects such as biology and chemistry, they represented only twenty percent of physics applicants and ten percent of computing applicants (Bennett, 2011). Women who do enter these fields face numerous challenges compared to male counterparts. Leaving work to establish a family is one significant barrier, as the total time available for career maturation influences how easily they can re-enter their careers later. The culture in these academic disciplines is also cited as a barrier to advancement.

Ethnic Minority Employment and Intersectionality

Some research has examined public policies regarding maternity leave and benefits to understand how these influence labour market rates for women. The UK and France have taken significantly different approaches to providing social welfare for mothers in the workforce. Research shows that both countries display strong patterns of path-dependency: corporatist/conservative/family-oriented France is seeking to erode rigidities associated with social insurance protection against unemployment risks, which lead to an entrenched labour-market division between insiders and outsiders (Daguerre & Taylor-Gooby, 2003). However, despite employment rates for young people remaining among the lowest in the EU, factors have strongly favoured female participation rates in the workforce.

An individual who is a member of both gender and ethnic disadvantaged groups represents a position that is doubly disadvantaged in the labour market. For example, some research indicates that even in minority-controlled organizations, wage gaps exist that place black women at the lower end of the earning scale compared to black men and members of the white community (Umolu, 2014). Such research demonstrates the complexities of equality, because the existence of wage gaps within black institutions shows that discrimination persists in human resources even in organizations most adverse to discriminatory practices.

There are differences in equality based on the source of ethnic differences, which affect migrants' inclusion in the workforce and opportunities in the UK. The 2001 Census showed that the number of Eastern Europeans living in Britain was relatively low—fewer than 100,000, or roughly 3 percent of the foreign-born population. Many people viewed these demographics as easily integrated since they could fall under the "other white" category (Demireva, 2011). Old Commonwealth, EU15, and US migrants with lower levels of inactivity and higher proportions of employment than British-born whites have received less attention than visible minorities, since they are assumed to be easily integrated.

Other factors contribute to low labour force participation among women. One study conducted in Greece found that homosexuality among women could decrease their likelihood of joining the labour market. The estimated probability of lesbian applicants receiving an interview invitation was 27.7 percent lower than that for heterosexual women applicants (Drydakis, 2011). However, in other markets, data has indicated that lesbian women have higher probabilities of finding employment than heterosexual women, including the UK. This suggests that sexual preferences and their role in employment fluctuate depending on culture.