In Britain, Blacks and Asians are twice likely to live in poverty compared to Whites: Research

from New Kerala

A new research has revealed that the ratio of people among the Blacks and the Asians living in poverty in the UK was almost double than that among the Whites. And, this continues despite improvement in their academic performance and qualifications.

The Blacks and the Asians still faced prejudice in job interviews and were paid lower wages than their white counterparts, found the research, and concluded that people from ethnic-minority groups did not receive the same rewards as white British people with equivalent academic qualifications such as degrees.

Julia Unwin, the director of the Foundation that carried out the research, said: "We need an urgent rethink from government and employers, so that minority ethnic groups don't miss out on opportunities in the workplace."

Around four in 10 Black and Asian people in Britain live in poverty, which is twice the rate among white people, research has revealed, The Independent quoted the research findings as saying.

As many as 30 per cent of Indians and Black Caribbeans, 65 per cent of Bangladeshis, 55 per cent of Pakistanis, and 45 per cent of Black Africans were living in poverty in the UK, even as the overall poverty rate for ethnic minorities is 40 per cent, compared with 20 per cent for white Britons, said academic think-tank the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), which carried out the research.

Almost half of all Black and Asian children were growing up poor, including a staggering 70 per cent of Bangladeshi youngsters, it added.

The JRF reports showed that only 20 per cent of Bangladeshis, 30 per cent of Pakistanis and 40 per cent of Black Africans of working age are in full-time employment, compared with more than 50 per cent of white British people of working age.

Disproportionate numbers of ethnic minority workers were in low-paid jobs. Half of Bangladeshi workers, one-third of Pakistanis and one-quarter of black Africans are earning less than 6.50 pounds an hour, the JRF discovered. As a result, 60 per cent of Bangladeshi and 40 per cent of Pakistani families in which at least one adult is working face poverty, compared with only 10 to 15 per cent of white Britons.