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Unequal Returns: Higher Education and Access to the Salariat by Ethnic Groups in the UK

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Dismantling Race in Higher Education

Abstract

This chapter studies the ethnic differences in the UK, focusing on degree-level education and access to the professional-managerial salariat. The analysis shows both polarisation and stratification in education: most ethnic minority groups were more likely than the majority group to have degree-level education, but all minority groups were overrepresented in the lowest level of education; and there were also more differences among ethnic minority groups than between them and the majority, with several groups such as Chinese, Indians and black Africans outperforming the white UK by large margins. There was evidence of progress over generations, with nearly all second-generation ethnic minorities outperforming the white UK in obtaining degree-level qualifications. Yet, in spite of the educational achievement, ethnic minorities faced considerable barriers in gaining access to salariat positions, and the disadvantages persisted even among the second-generation degree-holders. Unequal returns to higher education were the main barriers facing ethnic minorities in the UK. Parental class played a very important role in both educational and occupational attainment but gender differences were small. Ethnic minority women faced less unfavourable treatment than their male counterparts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Manchester University, Manchester, UK

    Yaojun Li

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  1. Yaojun Li
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Correspondence to Yaojun Li .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Roehampton, London, UK

    Jason Arday

  2. Goldsmiths College, University of London, London, UK

    Heidi Safia Mirza

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Li, Y. (2018). Unequal Returns: Higher Education and Access to the Salariat by Ethnic Groups in the UK. In: Arday, J., Mirza, H. (eds) Dismantling Race in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60261-5_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60261-5_6

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-60260-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-60261-5

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