Racism In The UK
Racism in the UK is still very real. It is a subtle but potent weapon that is still excluding and destroying the lives of the BAME community. Growing up, I had always heard of the British stiff upper lip, of course it took me years to fully understand what that really meant. It was not until I stepped into my adult shoes and experienced the real world myself, did I begin to fully grasp the entirety of that concept.
I was raised in a very professional family with a very solid work ethic. Although I suffer a disability, I did not want that to hold me back. My father was a Professor and practised a dual career in Law and Accountancy. My mother, whilst being a mother to six children, still held down a full time career as a matron in a hospital.
Photo Credit: Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona
They did not by any means have it easy; nothing was served to them on a plate. They worked really hard to give us a certain lifestyle and as far as they were concerned, a good solid education is the key to unlocking all doors. All of us six children were given a very good education, we are all graduates, we are all educated even up to postgraduate level; we all have our masters’ degree.
I will start my story from current times and work backwards, because it is only now that I can fully appreciate racism in all its ramifications.
A little background information on me – I am a Law graduate. Whilst I did not obtain my bachelors degree in London, I studied for my Masters degree in one of the Colleges that make up The University of London. For the last 18 years, I have worked in the Insurance industry, mainly based in the City of London. I have had to omit my Masters degree from my CV, because in times past, after getting qualified and freshly out in the job market, I was often told I was “overqualified” for many positions I was applying for.
Photo Credit: Andre Hunter
Five years back, in 2015, I had to relocate to Colchester, Essex, having lived in greater London for ten years prior to that and in London for another 10 years prior to that.
On anticipating my move to Colchester, and because of my disability, I knew I would find it incredibly difficult to commute from Colchester to London. Whilst we were scouting out houses in Colchester prior to moving, I had noticed a very prominent insurance Company located right in the heart of Colchester.
Great I thought. I will apply to that firm, believing strongly that with all my years of experience working within the Insurance industry in the City of London, I would be hearing back from that company pretty soon. I would be waiting a long time- I never heard back from them.
After I arrived in Colchester, reality began to dawn on me. Walking through their Town Centre, I noticed that in all the offices, banks, estate agents etc, all they had working their jobs were white folks.
I always try to talk myself away from negative thoughts about racism. My attitude had always been to keep my chin up and keep looking. So I joined employment agencies in my search for employment. By this time (a year after moving to Colchester) I had to give up my job in London, apart from health issues, there was also the prohibitive cost of rail travel.) So now, I was unemployed and forced to sign on to unemployment benefits whilst still job hunting.
Photo Credit: Carl Heyerdahl
My experience with employment agencies varied. Some will invite me in for a face-to-face interview to get me registered on their books. They ask me to bring my passport, my NI and other identification documents and then afterwards, it would be a case of radio silence.
Some online agencies would not even so much as acknowledge my application. Whilst some, realising the depth of my experience will call, enthusiastically tell me they have one or two clients on their books who could use someone like me, then, like vapour, it would all vanish away. I don’t hear from them anymore.
By my second year in Colchester, I began to notice that if as a Black person, you were not working as a Doctor or Nurse, most of the office jobs were not meant for you. The jobs opened for black people were either care giving jobs, working in a supermarket serving or in a restaurant serving, or being a security guard and such like jobs.
Whilst I was relentless in pursuing an office job, I reapplied to that original insurance firm I had initially applied to before moving to Colchester. I was able to secure an interview. Finally I thought; awash with relief. Somebody in there had come to their senses and recognised the potential of my CV.
On the day of the interview, I was smartly dressed in a suit, did not run wild with my make-up, just enough to make me presentable and appear as a true professional – after all this was a stalwart in the insurance industry, a name to be reckoned with, so I did not want to mess this up. Finally I had a foot in the door; I was going to make the most of this opportunity. I had studied up on all the Dos and Don’ts on what went into having a successful interview.
When I arrived 10 minutes into my interview time, I noticed there was no person of colour working there. From the reception staff, to the staff at work behind their desks, there was absolutely no one that looked like me. My heart sank, but still, I thought maybe they are ready to change that, maybe I would be the start of a new thing.
I was interviewed and I thought I did reasonably well. I left floating on air that I had aced the interview, expecting a call back within a day or two. I did not hear back for another two weeks with the usual ‘Sorry, but...’ the white wash excuses I had now grown accustomed to.
Another couple of years down the line, I had a second interview with this same Insurance Company. I was quite saddened to see that there was still an all white employee count. This time around, I was interviewed by a different set of people, and this time, I really did ace all their questions, as they had asked all scenario based questions, with them posing as a customer and me as the insurance claims handler. Again, I left filled with hope, again I did not hear back from them for another three weeks. Again, they gave another white wash as an excuse as to why they won’t be taking it further.
By this time, I had spent close to four years in Colchester, either not being called up for work by the numerous agencies I had signed up to, mainly unemployed, forced to take up voluntary work just to fill up the gaps in my CV. I remember a conversation I had with a certain gentleman who told me he had just formed his recruitment agency, he thought I had a pretty good CV. He asked me questions as to the gaps in my CV, not able to get his head around why I was still unemployed despite all my qualifications.
He said he was a Christian, I said I was too. He was so sure his client would be grateful for a prospect like me. We ended the conversation on a high. The next day, I sat by the phone, waiting for a call back, waiting to hear details of an interview. I waited again the day after that, and the day after. On Day 3, I called to ask him whether he had put me forward to his client. He said yes, but that he had not heard back from his client.
To date, two years down the line, I never heard from him again. I guess his client did not want a black person on their team. All they had to do to determine I was a black candidate was in my African name. I have found that the only way a black person could even work a semi-decent office based job is by using their white names.
After two years, the Universal credit replaced Job-seekers allowance, and I was told I could no longer claim JSA because I had exhausted all my NI contributions. I was referred to the Disability specialist whose sole purpose was to find employment for disabled people. They still did not find me a job.
People often say that perhaps the situation may not be as bad in London as it might be on the outskirts; I want to say that is a lie.
I had the same experience whilst working in London. When I first started in the Insurance industry in the City of London, I discovered that for a very long time, I was the only black person working in the companies I worked in. Over time, I found there was just the obligatory Black or Asian employee – could this be a case of tokenism?
Whilst working in the City, in the late 1990’s, the world of Insurance was the preserve of the White male. Inside Lloyds of London, it was a ratio of 70% white male to 20% white females who conducted business. From the late nineties to the mid noughties, that ratio evened out a little bit more but still in favour of white folks. The BAME community is still achingly absent in the world of Insurance in general, whether in the City or elsewhere.
Another thing that was blatantly obvious to me was on the issue of promotion. I was stifled, not achieving greater heights like my colleagues did. Employees would join the company after me, and were promoted whilst I was not. I am guessing that contributory factors to that could be absenteeism on my part due to ill-health. But I noticed that white colleagues who had health issues too were not held back because of their health issues, but I was. For me, I guess perhaps it was too late for them to try to fire me, the next best thing for them to do was to stagnate me and hoping I would leave out of frustration.
They got their wish. I left. I simply cannot abide the injustice of it all.