“You have to work twice as hard to be seen as half as good.”
It’s a phrase familiar to many Black and Asian professionals in Britain. In the NHS England, education, and public services, racism often hides behind “professionalism”, policies, and the idea of “fit”.
What the numbers reveal:
- The NHS’s 2023 Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) shows persistent inequality: staff from ethnic minority backgrounds remain significantly less likely than White colleagues to believe they are offered equal opportunity for career progression.
- The Office for National Statistics ethnicity pay gap report (2012-2022) shows that Black, African, Caribbean or Black British employees have consistently earned less than White employees.
- Labour market employment figures: In England, Scotland and Wales in 2022 the employment rate was 77% for White people, compared with 69% for all other ethnic groups combined.
The cost to the NHS and economy:
Workplace racism fuels turnover, under-utilisation of talent, burnout, poor retention and litigation. The 2024 WRES report found that ~80% of trusts reported White applicants were significantly more likely than BME applicants to be appointed from shortlisting.
Ethnically diverse staff face more disciplinary sanctions, fewer promotions and quieter, hidden forms of exclusion.
Solutions:
- Enforce zero-tolerance equality policies with transparent metrics, published each year, for all public sector organisations.
- Introduce anonymous reporting systems with protected whistleblower status complaining about workplace racism.
- Launch mentoring and sponsorship programmes focused on ethnic minority progression in senior roles; embed these in performance evaluations of senior staff.
Call to Action:
No one should fear bringing their whole selves to work.
📢 Equality is not a statement; it’s a standard. If you’re facing workplace racism, reach out to an equality organisation, submit your story, and help push for change in your employer.