Coronavirus And Racial Inequality in UK

White households in the UK earn on average 63% more than black households. A ditch that could well widen. The poorest workers are the most likely to be exposed to Covid-19.

Inequalities continue to widen in the United Kingdom. According to the National Statistics Office (ONS), white households in the United Kingdom have 63% higher incomes than black households. 

This is partly due to the freezing of social benefits. These inequalities could also widen further due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In detail, the ONS stipulates that the average income of a white household during the year 2019 amounted to 42,371 pounds, or a little more than 46,800 euros. For their part, Asian households gained 35,526 pounds in 2019, or almost 39,400 euros. Afro-Caribbean households are at the bottom of the scale with 25,982 pounds, or around 28,700 euros.

Taxes and social assistance are not enough to reverse the trend. According to the ONS, the average white household has a “final” income of £ 38,222.00, or around 42,200 euros. This is 9% more than Asian households and 18% more than black households.

Disparities also exist within these different groups. If the statistics body does not have separate data, it highlights previous studies, which revealed that 42% of Indian households had an income greater than 1,000.00 pounds per week, or almost 1,100 euros, against only 20% of Bangladeshi and Pakistani households.

The figures published also highlight the gap between the incomes of the richest 20% of British households and those of the poorest 20%. On the one hand, the wealthiest benefit from an income of 105,000 pounds, or just over 116,000 euros, on the other, the poorest households earn on average 7,700 pounds, or about 8,500 euros. Taxes and social assistance, however, help narrow this gap.

For the past two years, these inequalities have increased the ONS alert. And the coronavirus pandemic should not improve the situation. It found that employees in occupations that could be teleworked were more likely to have higher disposable household income. Conversely, 40% of workers in the poorest 20% of households work in jobs highly exposed to Covid-19, such as healthcare or catering.

These figures confirm a reality. It is to combat these racial inequalities that the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced on June 15 the creation of a commission in charge of examining “all the aspects” of racial inequalities, in the field of employment, health or university studies.