Press Release - 12 March 2009

Judges Conference

QED-UK, an organisation from Bradford in West Yorkshire, commented as judges in England and Wales hold their first ever conference to try to address discrimination against ethnic minorities.

QED says that the statistics tell their own story. There are no male law lords from an ethnic minority and only one female law lord out of a total of 12. Only three women out of 37 are lord justices of appeal.

There is also discrimination at a lower level within the legal profession, QED says.

Figures from 1 April 2008 show that out of 1,305 recorders, only 194 are women and only 61 are from ethnic minorities.

QED says that the creation of the Judicial Appointments Commission in 2006 to address the 'old boys' network' within the legal profession has had only a limited impact so far.

A recent report by QED highlighted that the UK's professions remain largely the preserve of the white middle class with people from ethnic minorities still facing racism and discrimination at all levels, QED'S research - entitled Striving For Success - highlighted the experiences of people across England working in a range of professions including law, medicine and accountancy.

Through focus group discussions in seven UK cities - Bradford, Sheffield, Newcastle, Cardiff, Manchester, Leicester and London - QED found that individuals face continual problems and barriers from school age right through to their careers in adulthood.

Racism and the 'old boys network' were recurring themes which many people said prevented them from advancing in their chosen roles. One African man interviewed for the report recounted his experience of being turned down for a job managing a large complex. "I was told that it had all gone well on the basis of my experience as a manager in Africa. But after they interviewed some other candidates they told me 'people are not going to respect you because it is a predominantly white area and so are the staff'. They gave the post to someone else," he said.

Other people said that in job interviews they had been asked about their parents' professions, their partners' jobs, and in some cases what their views were on the Iraq war. One Muslim man was asked at his interview if he drank alcohol as socialising with clients was apparently an important aspect of the position he'd applied for.

QED said the law profession appears to be a particularly problematic area and was described in the report by some interviewees as being "exclusive" and a "closed shop”, and there was a strong feeling among interviewees that attitudes of individuals in some professions will not change.

One Indian woman who studied law in London, then later in Newcastle, said: "I did the Legal Practice Course and not one coloured person had a training contract. It was evident that our class was fifty-fifty - maybe it was just us being sensitive, but it was something that was still there. Since then I have applied for training and I have not got anything yet. I have done umpteen interviews. What is holding me up?"

Tokenism and stereotyping were also viewed as endemic, the latter issue highlighted by Yemeni men in Sheffield who said that the general perception of them seem to be they were only good for labouring.

QED's report recommended that professional bodies such as the Law Society should conduct their own research to address these on-going problems, as well as offering training on equality procedures. There should also be initiatives to encourage children to consider entering the professions, the report added, with mentoring schemes involving businesses and school brought in.

The QED report came after it emerged in April that almost two-thirds of police forces in England and Wales, including the four biggest, will miss the ethnic minority recruitment targets they were set nine years ago following the Macpherson inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. Sir William Macpherson's public inquiry into the 1993 murder found that police errors had helped Lawrence's killers to escape justice and concluded that institutional racism was in part to blame for police failures. It also urged police forces to recruit far more ethnic minority officers so that the police would more closely resemble the communities they served.

The government gave them 10 years to meet the target - that each of the 43 forces in England and Wales should have the same percentage of ethnic minority officers as in the populations they served. But the Metropolitan police has conceded it will miss its target, as will the three next biggest forces - Greater Manchester, West Midlands and West Yorkshire. But 16 mostly smaller forces with ethnic minority populations of just a few per cent have or will have met their target by the deadline.

Dr Mohammed Ali OBE, Chief Executive of QED-UK, said: "if we want a harmonious and cohesive society we must reflect the Britain's rich ethnic diversity in all occupations and at all levels. People from all backgrounds need to feel valued and inclusive members of society.”