All Party Parliamentary Group on ethnic minority female employment

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1 Vicki Butler, The Runnymede Trust 7 Plough Yard, Shoreditch, London EC2A 3LP vicki@runnymedetrust.org Mary Weastell, Strategic Director Business Support City Hall Bradford BD1 5EW Tel: (01274) mary.weastell@bradford.gov.uk Date: 12 September 2012 Dear Vicki Thank you for the opportunity to respond to the All Party Parliamentary Group on ethnic minority female employment. On behalf of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council please find a response below. The submission includes: Contextual information on this issue within Bradford District. Specific statistical information on this issue within the district. Factors that impact on employment levels for ethnic minority females. Examples of specific programmes that the Local Authority have implemented. I look forward to hearing the findings from the group. Meanwhile please do not hesitate to contact me should you require anything further. With regards, Mary Weastell Strategic Director, Business Support Encl/ Sent via

2 All Party Parliamentary Group on ethnic minority female employment. Written submission from City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council With a population of 522,500 Bradford is the fourth largest district in England and the second largest within the Leeds City Region. Bradford has the youngest population of any metropolitan district in the country with 22% of our population aged 0-14, and unlike most other cities the younger population is growing. The local economy is worth 7.6bn with around 14,490 business units employing 192,700 people. Part-time employment accounts for 28.2% of all employment in Bradford (compared to 25.8% across the UK). There are 57,500 working-age people in part-time employment compared to 146,100 in full-time employment and importantly, part-time time employment increased by 12,700 over the year to March 2012 while full-time employment fell by 8,600. Much of the growth seen in Bradford has been driven by a move to self-employment. There were 24,400 self-employed people in Bradford at March 2012, although much of this would be considered relatively low level employment. Local analysis - Black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani women in Bradford According to experimental figures from the Office of National Statistics (Mid-2009), black and ethnic minority groups make up 25.3% of the population of Bradford District. The largest group is Pakistani, with 67,700 people or 13.4% of the district population. There are 34,000 Pakistani women, 5,600 Bangladeshi women and 4,700 Black/Black British women resident in Bradford district. Local data on employment by ethnicity is not reliable, so until 2011 Census data is released in November 2012 we do not have an accurate picture of the employment structure for ethnic minority women. Overall though, employment levels in Bradford have fallen by 4.5% between March 2008 and March 2012, but for women there was a very slight increase in the numbers employed over this period. This could be explained through the growth in self employment among women which has increased by 27.5% since March This represents an additional 1,400 women in selfemployment. As a contrast, self-employment among men declined over the period. 43.6% of women in employment in Bradford work part-time this is only slightly below the national average (42.3%). However part-time working has increased significantly in Bradford compared to nationally. While the most significant increase in part-time employment has been for men, the number of women working part-time has increased by 19.4% between March 2008 and March 2012 an additional 6,600 women. This compares to a national increase of only 1.0% over the same period. 28,900 women in Bradford work within the public sector, an area particularly impacted by the recession. This is 30.3% of all women in employment, although remains below the national figure (33.6%). Significantly, the number of women working in the public sector has fallen since March 2008, by 4,600 or 13.7%. This is in contrast to the national picture where female public sector employment has actually increased slightly by 0.5% over the period. Female unemployment in Bradford is 7.5% - similar to the national average (7.4%). However since the start of the recession the number of unemployed women in Bradford has increased by only 4% compared to a rise of 53% nationally. 2

3 Economic inactivity among women is higher in Bradford than the national average (38.3% compared to 29.8% across the UK as a whole). 62,500 women are economically inactive, with the main reason being that they are looking after family or home (37.6%). Those who are long term sick account for 19.3% and students account for another 1.19%. 10,800 of these women would like to work. Claimant information from Jobcentre Plus does allow us to get some understanding of unemployment for black and minority ethnic women in the district. Female JSA Claimants - Selected Ethnic Group Estimated Claimant Rate (%) England & Wales Estimated Claimant Rate (%) White 1,385 2,400 2,460 2,930 3, Pakistani ,250 1, Bangladeshi Black or Black British Source: Jobcentre Plus (note: ethnicity data is not available for all claimants, rates are based on Mid-2009 population estimates by ethnic group for year olds) From the table we can see that JSA claimant rates are more than double for Pakistani women than white women. In Bradford, 7.6% of Pakistani women aged are claiming JSA, much higher than the national average of 4.1%. Conversely, the claimant rates for of Black or Black British women (2.6%) and Bangladeshi women (1.9%) in the district are much lower than national averages. However, this does not give us a full picture of unemployment among these groups as there may be large numbers of ethnic minority women who do not claim or are not eligible to claim, and would be classed as economically inactive. There has been an annual year on year increase in female claimants across all ethnic groups - this is likely down to a number of factors including a reaction to the recession, where members of families register with Jobcentre Plus to mitigate exposure to job loss (real or potential) or reduced incomes. Unemployment and under-employment for ethnic minority females has been an issue for the district for some time and we, along with our partners, have undertaken a range of activities to help better understand the barriers to employment that women, and specifically ethnic minority women, face. In 2005 Bradford was a lead partner in a major EU funded programme targeted specifically at increasing employment and employability among particularly disadvantaged groups. ( This activity provided a valuable source of information on specific barriers to employment for ethnic minority women, as well as practical ways to help tackle them. Although the work was undertaken some time ago it s clear that many of the barriers identified at time continue to act as a brake on ethnic minority female employment. One of the key points that came across was the lack (perceived or otherwise) of training and skill enhancement courses for those who have left full time education in local areas. This has been seen as a specific explanation for the very low levels of economic activity in Pakistani and Bangladeshi women, although engagement and awareness of what is available may also be a factor. 3

4 In terms of qualifications and education there are wide variations in levels of attainment across ethnic groups and gender. When looking at 5+ A*-C GCSEs including English and Maths, girls generally perform better than boys. Pakistani girls have lower attainment rates than the average for all girls and are lower than for white girls, suggesting specific action may be required to boost attainment rates. On the other hand, attainment for Bangladeshi girls and those of black origin are much higher than the average, although this doesn t necessarily translate into entry into employment or higher education. Pupil Attainment at Key Stage 4 by ethnic group and gender 2011 Girls Boys Ethnic Group Number of Pupils % attaining 5+ A*-C GCSEs Incl English & Maths Number of Pupils % attaining 5+ A*-C GCSEs Incl English & Maths All Pupils 2, , White 1, , Mixed Heritage Pakistani Bangladeshi Indian Other Asian Black African Black Caribbean Black Other Other Source: CBMDC, KS4 Data Pack Our approach Along with national programmes to raise employability levels the local authority, and partners, has also supported a number of interventions specifically targeted at increasing employability of disadvantaged groups in the district. Work Programme & Work Choice The Skills for Work service (part of Bradford Metropolitan District Council) operates in partnership with a network of specialist providers to deliver the Work Programme a tailored programme of support to assist people into work. Work Choice supports people with disabilities who face real barriers when it comes to finding and keeping work. The table below shows the numbers of starts on the Work Programme and Work Choice provisions and numbers that gained employment since the programmes began. Female Work Choice & Work Programme Customers: Ethnicity Starts Jobs % White % Mixed % Asian / Asian British % Black / Black British % Other Ethnic Group % Not Known % Male Work Choice & Work Programme Customers: 4

5 Ethnicity Starts Jobs % White % Mixed % Asian / Asian British % Black / Black British % Other Ethnic Group % Not Known % On these programmes, a higher proportion of women of Asian or Black origin moved into a job than white women. (Ethnic group is not known for nearly 40% of the women on the programmes). This indicates that the support offered by such programmes may help to overcome some of the barriers faced by these women who are actively seeking work. However, different barriers exist for those who are not engaged with such programmes. Local partners, such as Bradford College and the voluntary and community sector are also active in delivering specific interventions to improve take-up of community learning opportunities and tackle barriers to employment. Qualitative research undertaken by the TUC ( indicated that married Pakistani and Bangladeshi women need to seek the agreement of their husband, and sometimes his family, before they can take paid work. This can be particularly exacerbated by childcare issues. Childcare and cultural expectations on who is the primary care-giver continue to impact on ethnic minority women in the district. The effectiveness of various Government initiatives to raise awareness of assistance with childcare and the benefits of being in work may also be an issue in facilitating the move into employment for ethnic minority women. Perceptions and attitudes of potential employers are also significant influences. Interview respondents to the TUC report were unanimous in their belief that wearing a headscarf or face veil posed major barriers to finding employment. Something the Council, as Investors in People and ambitions to be an employer of choice for the district, would be keen to challenge. Conclusions While elements of ethnic minority female employment mirror the wider narrative of employment for women there are a number of specific issues. Local activity to stimulate job growth and encourage up-skilling can provide deeper impacts than national programmes, ensuring delivery is culturally relevant and focused. As a local authority for example we took the decision to use elements of our discretionary Working Neighbourhoods Funding to provide additional ESOL provision in the district. This allowed us to complement national programmes and fill any identified gaps. Access to funded ESOL provision remains an issue but is crucial if we are to drive up employment levels for ethnic minority women. Identifying good practice with employers in terms of recruitment and equality and diversity training remains a relevant approach to tackling barriers to work. Finally it is important to flag the impact of the recession on employment levels of ethnic minority women. Where they are in (or seeking) employment, it has tended to be temporary or part-time and in the public sector (which offers more part time and flexible employment opportunities) - both parts of the local labour market that have been heavily impacted by the recession and seen a reduction in the numbers of available jobs. 5