RACE CAN LIMIT CAREER CHOICE SAY WOMEN
(3rd April 2002)

In a new survey published today two in three British women believe race can limit career choice and career progression.

Over 1,100 women were asked for their views in a major new survey commissioned jointly by She Magazine and the Commission for Racial Equality. Their answers provide a fascinating snapshot of British women's views on a wide range of issues around race. The findings show:

• Two thirds of white women and three quarters of non-white women think race can limit their career choice or progression
• Only one in four women are in favour of positive discrimination at work - more on grounds of age than race
• Only 50 per cent think Britain is a society based on equal opportunity
• Two thirds think that ethnic minority children are being integrated into society - and if they are not, cultural differences and prejudice are seen to be the main barriers to integration.
• One in five has no friends from different racial backgrounds
• Three in four think mixed race relationships are a good thing but one in three say their family would disapprove if they were involved in one.

Terry Mansfield CBE, President and CEO of the National Magazine Company (publishers of She Magazine) said: "The one thing I know from experience is that opportunity is the key to unlocking the amazing talent we have in the UK today. She Magazine's research shows that women today want what they have always wanted - to be treated equally, regardless of their background or where they come from. That world of opportunity and diversity is the one we try and reflect in the pages of all our magazines."

Beverley Bernard, Deputy Chair of the CRE added: "Women clearly feel that race is a barrier to career choice and career progression. Employers should take note. They cannot afford to ignore the concerns of half of Britain's workforce. It is still a fact that women do less well than men in the workplace. They are paid less. They are promoted less often. And they face greater harassment and bullying at work. Ethnic minority women face all of these problems with the added dimension of racial discrimination on top."

Last year the CRE conducted a series of consultation seminars with ethnic minority women to listen to their views. Overwhelmingly, the women who attended felt excluded from the public policy making process at both national and regional level. The wider CRE/She Magazine survey published today confirms many of the views expressed in those seminars, especially relating to race being a factor in limiting career choice and promotion prospects.

Copies of the report can be found on the internet at www.cre.gov.uk.

Click here to read about the EOC Valuing Women for Equal Pay Campaign.

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