'Racism at work still exists'

Black and ethnic minority staff are still being discriminated against in the workplace despite anti-racist legislation. According to a new book being launched at House of Lords tonight, Tackling the Roots of Racism, published by The Policy Press and supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, identifies 'elite racism' as one of two categories of victimisation that minorities suffer.

Minority groups continue to make slower progress than white counterparts within organisations even though changes to recruitment procedures have possibly made a difference to their employment of minorities.

Authors Dr Reena Bhavnani, Professor Heidi Mirza and Veena Meetoo, of Middlesex University, say laws against racial discrimination and harassment are still ineffective in improving the quality of life for different ethnic minority groups. They fail to address underlying everyday attitudes and behaviours which frequently go unchallenged - and these subtle and overt behaviours quickly become an expected part of everyday life.

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