Ethnicity and Social Mobility in Britain

• In Event: 126 - Regular Session. Race, Class, and Gender: Domestic and International Intersections

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the relationship between ethnicity and social mobility in contemporary British society. Using national representative surveys covering four decades (1982-2011), we investigate patterns and trends of social mobility for the minority and the majority populations and find a major generational shift with the first generation experiencing a notable social decline but the second generation having a clear advancement. The class of origin operated with stronger effects for the first than for the second generation. Overall, the social mobility of visible immigrants in Britain is characterized by a commonality of first-generation setback from and second-generation catching up with the white British, with greater variation among the ethnic minority groups than between them and the whites. Class inequality persists but there are also signs of growing fluidity, for the second generation in particular.

Author

• Yaojun Li, Manchester University