Ethnic Minority Employment Division

Research Programme 2005-07

Barriers to employment, a survey of Pakistani and Bangladeshi inactivity and unemployment: The study employs qualitative interviews with ethnic minority groups to identify and explore perceived barriers to entering employment. Final report: June 2006 (IES, Sussex)
Ethnic minority populations and the labour market- An analysis of the 2001 Census: Census data are used to provide a summary of the experiences of ethnic minority groups in the labour market. Areas of particular interest are the extent to which geographical and local neighbourhood factors impact on employment of ethnic groups. Final report: May 2006 (Manchester and Sheffield Universities).

Talk on trial: Job interviews, language and ethnicity: Recordings of real job interviews are examined to show how interaction between interviewers and candidates is managed in job interviews. The study aims to establish whether ethnic minority candidates are systematically disadvantaged in such interviews. Final reports May 2006 (KCL).
Ethnic penalties in the labour market, employers and discrimination: The research focuses on how employment penalties vary across different employer types and investigates whether the variations can be linked to other measures that point to discrimination. Final report: May 2006 (Oxford University).

Ethnic minority perceptions and experience of Jobcentre Plus: Qualitative research is employed to investigate the views and attitudes of participants, personal advisers, managers and employers to determine the impact of adult employment programmes on ethnic minority participation. Final report: May 2006 (PSI).
Ethnic parity in Jobcentre Plus programmes and mainstream services (phase 1): The research is designed to quantify the extent to which a Jobcentre Plus customer's ethnicity influences their probability of gaining employment after taking into account other factors. Final report: Summer 2006 (IFS).
Developing positive action policies: This research will provide a range of strategy and policy options designed to increase ethnic minority employment rates and allow DWP to identify good practice in terms of the implementation of these policies. The project will comprise a literature review of positive action policies and expert interviews in the US, Canada and Europe, with particular reference to Northern Ireland and the Netherlands. Final report: July 2006 (Bristol).
Evaluation of Fair Cities pilots: IES, Univ. of Sussex, has been commissioned to evaluate the impact of the Fair Cities pilots in Bradford, Birmingham and Brent. The evaluation will make use of qualitative and quantitative research methods to assess whether employer-led, workforce planning initiatives can impact successfully on ethnic minority rates of employment. Final report: March 2007 (IES).

Barriers to employment for Pakistanis and Bangladeshis (second wave): This project will build on the findings of the Barriers to Employment project and is designed to support policy initiatives for encouraging ethnic minority women, particularly Muslim women, to enter the work force. The project will analyse cultural factors faced by women in the home and their community for entering work, and the resources available for 'bridging' the divide between community and employment. Final report: Spring 2007 (PSI).

Developing good interview practice for recruiting and promoting ethnic minorities: The project will build upon the 'Talk on trial' project to investigate current employment practices particularly in relation to promotion of ethnic minorities within organisations. Outputs will be in the form of a report, guidance and DVD-training package for interviewers. Final report: Spring 2007 (KCL).
The business case for diversity policies: Data from WERS2004 will be used to attempt a replication of the Pérotin and Robinson WERS98 study which related diversity policies to organisational performance. The study will extend the analysis by investigating the inter-relationship between diversity policies and recruitment and appraisal, work organisation, job satisfaction, employee-management relations, pay and productivity and relate the analysis in turn to gender, age and disability as well as ethnicity.

Ethnic parity in Jobcentre Plus programmes and mainstream services (phase 2): This research will examine a wider range of Jobcentre Plus programmes (c.f. phase 1) to quantify their impact on the probability of ethnic minorities gaining employment after taking into account other factors. Final report: Spring 2007 (PSI).
Ensuring outreach employment services meet the needs of ethnic minority groups: Over 1,000 qualitative interviews will be selected from the ESRC data archive that focuses on ethnic minority experiences of the labour market. These interviews will be re-analysed to assess which factors influence take-up of Jobcentre Plus services, how these factors vary by ethnicity, gender and age, and to assess how services may be tailored to better meet the needs of ethnic minority jobseekers.