Ethnic minorities held back in Scotland

People from ethnic minority backgrounds are still being held back from succeeding in the world of work, despite largely performing better academically in education, a new report by the Scottish Parliament’s Equal Opportunities Committee has revealed.

Ethnic minorities are more likely to be low-paid work, and are under-represented in management roles, the report said.

It calls on the Scottish Government to take more of a proactive role by opening up opportunities via public sector procurement.

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Committee convener Margaret McCulloch said “Achieving equality in the workplace is a vital part of ensuring Scotland as a nation is fair and inclusive to all.

“We are urging the Scottish Government to work with senior figures across the public sector, and, where possible, the private sector to tackle the problem.

“We can only progress if we refuse to accept current defective recruitment practices and challenge segregation within employment. Fail to act now, and we risk placing an ‘ethnic penalty’ on Scotland’s young people.”

The Scottish Government said it is currently developing a Race Equality Framework for Scotland which will be revealed in the spring.