USA 
United Kingdom
A third of Black, Asian, Mixed Race and ethnically diverse people have left or considered leaving a job due to lack of flexibility, according to new research commissioned by Business In The Community (BITC), The Prince’s Responsible Business Network and Ipsos UK.
This compares to one-fifth of the white working population, who’ve also considered leaving a role due to lack of flexibility, suggesting that Black, Asian, Mixed Race and ethnically diverse people feel less supported by their employers than white people.
The researcher was conducted as part of a gender equality campaign by BITC to better understand experiences and challenges around combining paid work and care (whether that’s childcare or other caring responsibilities) in the UK. The researchers surveyed 5,444 people across the UK Black, Asian, Mixed Race and ethnically diverse workers, those on lower incomes and those working shifts, were not only more likely to have considered leaving a job due to lack of flexibility but are also less likely to have applied for a job or promotion.
Lower income workers felt less supported with regard to childcare than those on higher incomes; one in two (50%) workers in households with incomes under £26,0000 per year felt supported by employers with their childcare, compared with three quarters (75%) of those from households earning £26,000 per year or more.
The results clearly paint a picture of a workplace where employers have lost touch with the needs of the modern workforce. Despite the rise in flexible and remote working since the pandemic, inequality is still rife when it comes to the flexibility that’s offered to different working groups, with those from Black, Asian, Mixed Race or ethnically diverse backgrounds, and/or those on lower incomes, having less access to flexible work. As women are still the primary carers in our society, they are disproportionately affected by the barriers around combining work and care.
Not only does this undermine diversity and inclusion in the workplace, but it represents a significant waste of talent and creativity, and limits the pool of talent available to employers.
Based on this research, BITC has launched a ‘Who Cares?’ campaign which calls on employers and policymakers to transform the way they think about work and care. Among their recommendations are the following:
Considering care the norm rather than the exception
Championing equitable access to care for all genders in policy-making
Fostering a culture that supports men to care
Promoting flexible working directly to men
Commenting on the research, Charlotte Woodworth, Gender Equality Director at Business in the Community, said: “This research tells us some groups are having a significantly harder time than others when it comes to combining paid work and care. Women with caring responsibilities and carers from Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse backgrounds are being pushed down or out of the workforce as a result. Employers have the power to create working cultures that support all carers, regardless of race, gender or personal circumstances. Only then can we put up our hands and say that we have a truly inclusive workforce in the UK and employers must not stop reviewing, changing, and challenging their internal policies and practices until that happens.”
Sandra Kerr OBE, Race Director at Business in the Community, added: “Supporting employees from all backgrounds who are juggling caring responsibilities alongside their careers needs to be a big focus for employers. The divide between women and men is already too big, but when we look at how caring responsibilities impact Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse employees, it shows we have a long way to go towards true equality. Businesses are doing great things already but what we need to see now is more targeted action and at a much bigger scale.”
