Poverty in ethnic groups tackled by sociologist

A researcher at the University of Essex will investigate ethnic minority disadvantage and poverty in a study launched recently.

Dr Lucinda Platt, of the Department of Sociology, has been awarded almost £34,000 by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for the one-year project entitled ’Britain Divided: A Review of Poverty and Ethnicity.’

Dr Platt will conduct a systematic survey of poverty and disadvantage across ethnic groups that will summarise current knowledge and highlight gaps in it. She will look at how residential concentration and housing, education, family structure, employment and economic (in)activity, disability and ill-health, and migration affect poverty in Britain.

Dr Platt explained: ’The poverty rates of Britain’s different ethnic groups vary enormously. Despite the fact that the first race relations legislation was brought in nearly 40 years ago, striking ethnic inequalities remain. A systematic review such as this is critical to informing our understanding of one of the most troubling and persistent divisions within society.’

It is anticipated that as well as producing a report of the study, Dr Platt will publish a book and a searchable database available on the internet.