Experiences of racism and discrimination among migrant care workers in England: findings from a mixed-methods research project

Martin Stevens (1) , Shereen Hussein (2) , Jill Manthorpe (2)

1 Social Care Workforce Reseach Unit
2 Social Care Workforce Research Unit

Abstract This article reports part of the findings of research undertaken in 2007-09 that aimed to investigate the contribution made by migrant workers to the care workforce in England. The study involved analysis of national statistics on social care and social workers and semi-structured interviews with a wide range of stakeholders, including 96 migrant care workers. The interviews elicited some accounts relating experiences of racism and discrimination from some people using social care services, employers and UK born care workers. This included directly racist comments and refusal to receive services from workers from a visibly different ethnicity alongside more subtle racism. The research highlights the different kinds of racism experienced by migrant care workers and the importance of the support they receive in terms of balancing their right to protection, managing the workforce and respecting the choice of people using social care services.

Mots clés: Social Sciences & Humanities

Domaines: Anthropologie sociale et ethnologie

Martin Stevens, Shereen Hussein, Jill Manthorpe. Experiences of racism and discrimination among migrant care workers in England: findings from a mixed-methods research project. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2011, PP (PP), pp.1. ⟨10.1080/01419870.2011.574714⟩. ⟨hal-00709554⟩