The Welsh Government has made a commitment to publish a Race Equality Action Plan designed to tackle structural racial and ethnic inequalities in Wales. The Deputy Minister and Chief Whip asked the Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) to undertake evidence reviews to inform the development of the Action Plan across six key policy areas: leadership and representation, health and social care, employment and income, education, housing and accommodation, and crime and justice.
The six policy areas were selected in consultation with Welsh Government officials, academic experts and the Race Equality Action Plan Steering Group. A small number of policy areas were selected to ensure the research focused on key areas of priority, that would likely have the greatest impact on the lives of Black, Asian and minority ethnic individuals in Wales.
The evidence gathering involved a rapid review of existing research, official inquiries and reports which have gathered evidence on the experience of Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities in Wales and the rest of the UK. Working primarily with experts from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, the WCPP assessed and synthesised the best available evidence to provide a summary of recommendations for action across each of the six policy areas.
We also convened a roundtable attended by Welsh Government officials and eighteen academic and practice-based experts, and attended a series of Welsh Government-organised ‘policy deep dive’ sessions to discuss findings in each policy area with a range of officials, stakeholders, community organisations, and people with lived experience.
In addition to the evidence reviews on these six topics, the WCPP has produced a report summarising the cross-cutting themes and overarching messages highlighted by our research. The summary report also recommends principles that can help ensure effective implementation of the actions contained in the Race Equality Action Plan.
Our podcast:
Episode 8 – Improving Race Equality in Wales
In this remotely recorded edition of PEP Talk Manon Roberts talks to Professor Charlotte Williams and Professor Emmanuel Ogbonna about the nature and scale of racial inequality in Wales, with a focus on education and health and social care, and offer insight into the ways in which the Welsh Government could seek to respond, particularly with their forthcoming Race Equality Action Plan.
You can read our reports: Improving Race Equality in Wales
Guests:
Professor Charlotte Williams OBE – Honorary Professor at Bangor University and Chair of the ‘Communities, contributions and cynefin: BAME experiences and the new curriculum’ working group
Professor Emmanuel Ogbonna – Professor of Management and Organisation at Cardiff Business School and Chair of the First Minister’s BAME COVID-19 Socioeconomic Subgroup.