These are the most recent figures from a YouGov study. It also found that, whereas the Asian population of the UK is seven percent, we perceive it to be fifteen.
This overestimation of the size of Muslim and Asian communities in the UK has been a feature throughout my HR career, and I can only think that press coverage and so called ‘identity politics’ play a large part in this perception.
Clearly we should welcome any efforts to increase tolerance, understanding and kindness, all of which we are famous for in this fabulous country. But could it be that some organisations and authorities are so keen on pushing ‘diversity’, sometimes to the perceived detriment of the rest of society, that there is an unintended consequence of causing resentment? Can being overzealous about these issues actually lead to an increase in harassment, discrimination and bullying from sections of our community who feel less well treated? I hope not, but anecdotal evidence and recent events suggest there maybe some evidence of this. Worrying times!
Getting back to the YouGov poll, strangely, we actually underestimate the number of non-Muslim Asian people in the country as, from the above figures there are clearly almost as many non-Muslim Asian people as Muslim. Is this underestimation because we rarely hear about those other communities in the press e.g. the large Chinese neighbourhoods in many cities? I have no idea, but it does seem that when many people refer to ‘Asian’ they automatically think ‘Muslim’.
Surprisingly (to me, anyway), the figures are even more extreme regarding our Jewish community, that forms only half a percent of the UK population, but the public perceive it to be 20 times more, at ten percent.
It is so hard to understand what is happening at present in so many English towns and cities. Feelings are clearly running high, with a complex mix of resentment and emotions over various issues. Let’s hope the authorities can bring back order soon to the current unrest, although I have no idea how they will resolve this. I suspect it will take a very long time.
Fortunately, in the workplace the behaviours that are required are much easier to define and manage, and at 186hr we have literally decades of experience advising organisations how to tackle employee behaviour that needs to improve whether that is through their conduct, absence or performance.
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Later this week we will do a further post based on the findings of the YouGov poll, covering perceptions of the number of gay and trans people in the UK.
It’s so important to train your employees in how to avoid discrimination, harassment, and bullying at work. To help employers with this we have produced a short, 40 minute e-learning training course in conjunction with the brilliant channel2learning online training specialist, covering all of these issues. Details to follow shortly.