A plan to stamp out racism in Wales has been announced. By 2030, the hope is for a "Wales which is anti-racist".
The plan is for all public services and says that while it would be "naive to think we can completely eradicate racism in Wales... we can start to create a culture with zero tolerance of racism, and change our systems and institutions".
It says that those impacted by racism are black, Asian and minority ethnic people, but also Romani Gypsies, Irish travellers, Roma or Jewish people as well as parents and children of mixed heritage who face direct racism but also "poorer life chances and employment opportunities, micro-aggression in service delivery, and discrimination in schools, and other education institutions".
It contains testimonies of those who have been subjected to racism across a whole host of areas. One anonymous contributor writes: "One time I was on the bus… I was looking down at my phone and didn’t’ notice him (an old man). This woman told me to get up and let him sit down. Then she started saying – 'These people are so rude … these immigrants don’t have any manners. I bet you don’t even have a passport...you have bad manners.' Then the woman was badmouthing Muslims. I wanted to defend myself but my mum didn’t want to make a fuss. No one else got involved, everyone stayed quiet.”
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A member of the National Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Youth Forum said: "I have faced micro aggression at work and have also been treated differently to my colleagues. They say I was too confident and asked too many questions. But it was clearly because I was black."
The report admits: "Ethnic minority people have become accustomed to living with the reality of racism".
The report, co-chaired by Professor Emmanuel Ogbonna from Cardiff University and Welsh Government Permanent Secretary Andrew Goodall, says that attempts at "diversity and inclusion" has failed and by involving women, LGBTQ+ and disabled people for example, in discussions and opinion sharing it didn't take account of the power imbalance meaning their input had limited benefits. "Whilst they were at the table they did not have authority to deliver real changes; power was still held by the majority. These, mainly white people in leadership positions continued to make policies and decisions that did not take account of the needs and interests of ethnic minority people.
"For us, anti-racism involves actively identifying and getting rid of policies, systems, structures and processes that produce radically different outcomes for ethnic minority groups. It requires us to acknowledge that even if we do not see ourselves as ‘racist’ we can, by turning our eye away, be complicit in allowing racism to continue.
"Racism can change overtime. Previously, it was often expressed in obvious and open ways. Nowadays, it is often more subtle. But it is no less insidious in the impact it has on people’s lives."
The plan lists 12 actions that will be taken.
They are:
1. We will take a number of actions to tackle racism through building cohesive and integrated communities. For example, we will tackle Islamophobia through work with faith groups, community leaders and equalities partners to explore the adoption of a definition of Islamophobia; mainstream tackling Islamophobia in our anti-racism training, and policy-making processes; ensuring the ‘Hate Hurts Wales’ campaign highlights the harm caused by religious hate and bigotry
2. Provide safe, culturally appropriate accommodation and address the lack of site provision and poor quality of Gypsy and Traveller accommodation in Wales
3. To identify and break down barriers which prevent equitable access to healthcare services for black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.
4. To improve the experiences of black, Asian and minority ethnic learners and teachers in schools, we will require reporting of racist incidents and harassment in schools and colleges
5. To address the poor experience of being in the health workforce by introducing an equality standard to show evidence to make and measure "targeted structural change"
6. Welsh Government "will create a sizeable shift in culture, including behaviour change, within the organisation, towards values and behaviours for anti-racism". They will get expert consultancy support with appropriate lived experience and experience of working effectively in a government, to review Welsh Government’s Human Resource policies, procedures and practices to ensure they are explicitly anti-racist.
7. To ensure that all Welsh Government employability programmes offer a "safe, positive, and inclusive environment for all staff and students"
8. Eliminate the ethnicity pay gap by 2050
9. To ensure that the Welsh Government workforce reflects the diverse population of Wales. One measure will be to ensure they reach the recruitment target of 20% from an ethnic minority background by 2026, at all levels of the organisation
10. Each NHS organisation will commit to a programme to educate, mentor and support people from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background.
11. Continue to be a ‘Nation of Sanctuary’
12. Ensure that the employability of forced migrants is supported
The plan can be read here.
