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.
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