A critical look at the long way still to travel to achieve equal opportunity and treatment irrespective of gender or ethnicity. (Barking and Dagenham Post opinion piece 10.8.22)
Much has been made of the welcome ethnic and gender diversity of the Tory
leadership contenders. But any celebrations should be qualified.
The prospect of either a third female Prime-minister, or the first PM of Asian descent,
and the first of non-Christian belief, is a major milestone, unimaginable just a few
years ago. It stands in stark contrast to the dismal record of the Labour Party in this
respect. It should inspire the aspirations of upcoming generations. But the conceit
that ‘I can make it so anyone can’ belies the disadvantages that so many are still up
against.
This debate is not new, and the powerful words of black civil rights activist Dr Martin
Luther King resonate today. Speaking in 1966, he acknowledged that black people
had come a long way since the days of slavery. But he also spoke of the ‘long, long
way’ to go.
Then, as now, a few people of colour were able to secure top jobs. King pointed out
that, while this might give the impression of progress, it didn’t equate to equal
opportunities for all. In fact, the success of a few was often used to resist the
sweeping changes necessary to address unfairness for the many. King said: ‘This
kind of tokenism is much more subtle and can be much more depressing to the
victims of the tokenism than all-out resistance [to change].’ 60 years later, there is
still resistance, and still a long way to go.
Ethnicity and gender do not in themselves determine an individual’s intelligence,
compassion, integrity, or leadership skills. ‘Racial’ characteristics, such as skin colour, are literally just skin deep. This is reinforced by the work of cutting-edge
geneticists like Adam Rutherford, recently appointed President of Humanists UK. We
must look to individual and institutional bias to help explain why people of
colour, and women, remain so unfairly treated and represented in different areas of
public life.
There is little sign the PM hopefuls have any plan to address structural unfairness,
such as the gender pay gap, or the disproportionate stop and search and
incarceration of people of colour, or their inequitable employment prospects.
And let’s not forget that the non-violent civil disobedience King used to achieve social
justice would have got him locked up under the anti-protest laws they voted in.
Paul Kaufman
Chair East London Humanists
