The Scottish Government

« Previous | Contents | Next »

Listen

CHAPTER EIGHT COVERT DISCRIMINATION AND POSITIVE ACTION

Introduction

8.1 So far, our principal strategy in attempting to uncover the existence of discriminatory attitudes has been to consider the responses given to questions that ask people directly about their attitudes towards particular groups. In so doing we have presumed that people would be willing to acknowledge that, for example, they would be unhappy about a relative of theirs forming a long-term relationship with a Muslim or that a Gypsy/Traveller would be unsuitable as a primary school teacher.

8.2 However, such a strategy is open to challenge. People may feel that prejudice and discriminatory attitudes are now widely regarded as unacceptable, and may as a result be reluctant to express their true feelings about certain groups. In consequence it may be felt that our approach so far has understated the incidence of discriminatory attitudes in Scotland today.

8.3 As we argued in Chapter One, one possible solution to this potential problem is that instead of asking people how they feel about particular groups, we ask them what they feel about the help that may been given to particular groups to overcome the effects of discrimination (Sears, 1988). People may feel able to criticise what government or other organizations may have done or might do to help particular groups, even if they are reluctant to espouse discriminatory views directly. Meanwhile, asking questions about what might be done to help particular groups also helps give an indication of public attitudes towards certain strategies designed to overcome discrimination and disadvantage. For even if people do not themselves hold discriminatory attitudes it does not necessarily follow that they will support any measure designed to reduce discriminatory behaviour.

8.4 In this chapter we therefore look at two types of question. The first asks people about their attitudes towards the attempts that have been made so far to secure equal opportunities for various groups. Our primary interest here is in whether many people feel such attempts have 'gone too far' and whether this constitutes evidence of attitudes that are covertly discriminatory. The second kind of question asks people about their attitudes towards various possible forms of positive action that employers might take. Such action might take the form of providing additional training for members of hitherto under-represented groups; it does not encompass 'positive discrimination', such as for example, giving preference to someone from an under-represented group in selecting someone for a job, a practice that would be unlawful in the UK. As well as ascertaining the overall level of support for such action, we are particularly interested in whether those who oppose positive action tend to be the same kind of people whom we have found elsewhere in this report to be particularly likely to hold discriminatory views.

Equal opportunities

8.5 To ascertain people's attitudes towards the attempts that have been made so far to secure equal opportunities for various groups, we asked:

Now I want to ask you about some changes that have been happening in Scotland over the years. For each one I read out please use this card to say whether you think it has gone too far or not gone far enough.

First, attempts to give equal opportunities to women in Scotland?

followed by

Attempts to give equal opportunities to black people and Asians in Scotland?

and

Attempts to give equal opportunities to gay men and lesbians in Scotland?

Respondents could give one of five answers ranging from 'gone much too far' to 'not gone far enough', with the middle option labelled 'about right'.

Table 8.1 Attitudes to Equal Opportunities

8.6 As Table 8.1 shows, people were far more likely to say that attempts to give equal opportunities had gone too far in respect of both black and Asian people together with gay men and lesbians than they were in the case of women. Around a fifth said that opportunities for black and Asian people (22%) have gone too far, while the same is true of gay men and lesbians (21%). In contrast just 6% said that opportunities for women have gone too far. Conversely, as many as a third said that opportunities for women have not gone far enough (34%), compared with only around a fifth in the case of black and Asian people (23%) and gay men and lesbians (17%).

8.7 Evidently, this line of questioning does not uncover prima facie evidence of covertly discriminatory attitudes in respect of women. It appears that there is widespread support for the measures that have been taken so far, and an acceptance by many at least that yet more might be achieved. Meanwhile, that a fifth say that equal opportunities for gay men and lesbians have gone too far reflects the incidence of discriminatory attitudes that our more direct line of questioning has uncovered.

8.8 The same cannot though be said about attitudes towards equal opportunities for black and Asian people. We have seen, for example, that only 11% say they would be unhappy if a relative of theirs formed a long-term relationship with a black or Asian person, while just 4% thought such a person would be unsuitable as a primary school teacher. Now we have uncovered a much higher figure. Here perhaps is a group about whom discriminatory attitudes are perhaps more covertly held.

Table 8.2 Attitudes to equal opportunities by age, education, and attitude to prejudice

8.9 Certainly the character of attitudes towards equal opportunities for black and Asian people follows a by now familiar pattern. For example, Table 8.2 shows that just 15% of those with experience of higher education say that such opportunities have gone too far, compared with as many as 34% of those with no qualifications. Equally, older people are more likely to express that view than younger people. Above all, 43% of those who say that sometimes there is good reason to be prejudiced feel that equal opportunities for black and Asian people have gone too far, compared with just 14% of those who say that all prejudice should be eliminated. On this evidence it seems reasonable to conclude that our question does indeed tap a discriminatory outlook towards black and Asian people, rather than simply an assessment of the success or otherwise of equal opportunities policies for black and Asian people (and indeed it appears that much the same can be said too in respect of attempts to secure equal opportunities for gay men and lesbians).

8.10 There are perhaps two possible interpretations of this evidence. One is that indeed, people are now aware of the social (and legal) unacceptability of avowedly racist views, and that as a result the full extent of discriminatory attitudes towards black and Asian people is only fully uncovered when a more indirect line of questioning is used. But perhaps an alternative interpretation is that while there is little evidence of discriminatory attitudes towards individual black or Asian people - as evidenced by a willingness to accept them as a prospective marriage partner or primary school teacher - as a group they can still evoke hostility. Moreover, perhaps this is particularly so in respect of competition for jobs and other resources. We did after all also ascertain earlier that as many as 27% were concerned that ethnic minorities take jobs away from other people in Scotland, and perhaps similar concerns were in people's minds when they were asked about 'equal opportunities'.

8.11 We saw in Chapter Seven that the incidence of discriminatory attitudes towards gay men and lesbians has declined over the last four years. There is not, however, any sign of a decline over the same period in the proportion of people who feel that equal opportunities for gay men and lesbians have gone too far. If anything, as Table 8.3 shows, there has been a slight increase in that proportion, as indeed there has also been in respect of black and Asian people. Nevertheless, as the same table also demonstrates, the proportion who nowadays think that equal opportunities for gay men and lesbians have gone too far is little more than half what it was in the early 1990s. This decline is perhaps all the more notable given that the legal status and rights of same sex couples have been considerably enhanced during the intervening period. Evidently those changes have reflected a trend in public opinion rather than stirred a reaction against them.

Table 8.3 Trends in Attitudes towards Equal Opportunities

Note: 1992 source: Scottish Election Study.

Positive action

8.12 We included three questions in our survey about possible forms of positive action. The first two asked whether it would be fair to give more training opportunities to those employees who were underrepresented in senior positions. They read as follows:

Say a company had fewer women than men in senior jobs and decided to give its women employees extra opportunities to get training and qualifications. Do you think this would be fair or unfair?

And say a company had few black and Asian people in senior jobs and decided to give black and Asian people it employed extra opportunities to get training and qualifications. Do you think this would be fair or unfair?

8.13 The third, in contrast, referred to a more specific and direct form of positive action, that is whether someone with a disability who applied for a job should be guaranteed an interview. It asked:

Say several people apply for a job, including someone with a disability. They all meet the necessary requirements for the job. Do you think it would be fair or unfair to automatically give the person with a disability an interview for the job even if other candidates appear to be better qualified?

8.14 A majority feel that offering more training to those who belong to groups that are underrepresented in senior positions is 'fair' (see Figure 8.1). As many as 63% state that view so far as women are concerned, while only slightly less, 57% do so in respect of black and Asian people. Still, given that 35% and 41% respectively feel that such action would be unfair, such a practice is certainly far from being wholly uncontroversial.

Figure 8.1 Attitudes to positive action for women and black or Asian staff, and job applicants with a disability

8.15 Thus, perhaps it is not surprising that a majority (57%) actually feel that our more direct form of action, that is guaranteeing an interview to a person with a disability who meets the requirements of the job, would be 'unfair'; whereas only 40% believe that this would be 'fair'. It looks as though attempts to secure greater equality of outcome may well be resisted if they are regarded as unfair procedurally.

8.16 Moreover, in all three cases it should not be presumed that opposition to positive action is simply being voiced by those who are more likely to hold discriminatory attitudes. Table 8.4 shows that this is far from being the case. It is those with most educational qualifications and those in higher status jobs who are most opposed to positive action, not those with fewest qualifications or those in routine occupations. For example, 44% of those with experience of higher education feel that it would be unfair to provide extra training opportunities for women, compared with 32% of those with no qualifications. It may be that those who are better qualified and those who already hold relatively senior jobs feel that they are most likely to lose out if women or black and Asian people were to be given extra training to help them climb the career ladder. Doubtless this may also help explain the greater level of opposition too amongst men, not least towards providing more training opportunities for women; as many as 43% of men feel this would be unfair, compared with just 28% of women.

8.17 Meanwhile, we should note also from Table 8.4 that in the case of training opportunities for women and guaranteeing a disabled person a job interview the views of those who say that sometimes there is good reason to be prejudiced differ little from those who say that all prejudice should be eliminated. Only in the case of training for black and Asian people is there much of a gap. Clearly it cannot be presumed that those who do not hold discriminatory views will necessarily support positive action.

Table 8.4 Positive action by age, gender, education, socio-economic status and attitude to prejudice

Conclusion

8.18 Those who express dissatisfaction with attempts to secure equal opportunities do indeed often seem to be reflecting the discriminatory attitude that they hold. However, for the most part asking people their opinion about attempts to secure equal opportunities for various groups does not appear to uncover evidence of discriminatory attitudes that our more direct line of questioning could not. Only in the case of black and Asian people was that clearly not the case. However, in this instance this may be because our equal opportunities question, alongside others in our survey, helps demonstrate that while discriminatory attitudes are rarely expressed about black and Asian people as individuals, they are more common in respect of them as a group - both overtly and covertly.

8.19 Those who are inclined to regard positive action as unfair are not, however, typically those who express discriminatory views. Indeed, if anything the very opposite is the case. In particular, such measures are most likely to be opposed by the well qualified and those in senior jobs who typically are less likely to uphold discriminatory views - perhaps because they fear that positive action measures might threaten their status and security. More generally the relatively high level of opposition to positive action may well suggest that, for some people at least, perceptions of procedural fairness override any desire to secure equality of outcome. In any event it is clear that such measures will not necessarily secure the support of those who otherwise might be expected to support anti-discrimination measures. Positive action clearly has the potential to be the subject of considerable controversy.

Key points:

• Some argue that people may be unwilling to express discriminatory attitudes towards a group when questioned directly, but feel more comfortable doing so if they are instead asked questions about measures to counter discrimination.
• However, hardly anyone (just 6%) says that attempts to secure equal opportunities for women have gone too far, while only around one in five say the same about black and Asian people (22%) or gay men and lesbians (21%).
• Nevertheless, rather more people said that equal opportunities for black and Asian people had gone too far than might have been expected given the incidence of overtly discriminatory attitudes uncovered by some of our other lines of questioning. It looks as though people are more likely to express concerns about black and Asian people as a group than they are about black or Asian people as individuals.
• As many as 35% say that it is unfair for companies to provide additional training for their female employees, while 41% say the same about black and Asian employees.
• A majority (57%) say it is unfair to guarantee a job interview to a candidate with a disability who meets the basic criteria for the post.
• Opposition to positive action tends to be greatest amongst people in senior management jobs and those with higher education, perhaps because they are most likely to feel that their status and security would be put at risk by such measures.

« Previous | Contents | Next »