Closed petition Undertake an equality impact assessment on the use of the label BAME

Closed on 2 March 2021

In line with The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) we want an evidence-based Equality Impact analysis of the growing use of the label BAME that considers its impact on those that fall within and without the category, and how it intersects with other structures of inequality including class.

The label BAME can creates issues as its use can:
- allow institutions to misrepresent the advances of some ethnicities as attainment & progress for others.
- exclude those not within BAME facing discrimination.
- disguise discrimination between groups in BAME
- promote routine use of terms such as ‘our BAME community’ which suggests ownership & infantilization which is damaging for equality and self respect
-problematize the people within the group rather than addressing the interlocked barriers they're facing

286 signatures

286 of 10,000 signatures required to get a Government response

Petition progress

View all updates for this petition, with the most recent first.

21 April 2021

Related activity

Ministerial statement on the report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities

On Tuesday 20 April, the Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch MP gave a statement to the House of Commons on the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.

The statement follows the Government's publication of the report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-report-of-the-commission-on-race-and-ethnic-disparities

Watch the statement here: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/b586787a-eb7f-409b-b20e-9cb31d21ddd0?in=13:38:40

Read the transcript here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-04-20/debates/1502466F-D06B-402A-B7C0-03452FFB1DA9/CommissionOnRaceAndEthnicDisparities

Ministerial statements are a way for Ministers to bring an important matter to the attention of the House. Find out more about them here: https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/statements/

What did the report say about language?

The Commission said that use of the term BAME, which is frequently used to group all ethnic minorities together, is no longer helpful and it was time the term was dropped. The Commission recommended that the government move away from the use of the term ‘BAME’, to better focus on understanding disparities and outcomes for specific ethnic groups.

Read the report's comments on the use of the term "BAME" in the introduction and recommendations [recommendation 24 is about use of the term "BAME"] here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-report-of-the-commission-on-race-and-ethnic-disparities/foreword-introduction-and-full-recommendations

What is the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities?

The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) has been set up by the Government to review inequality in the UK, focusing on areas including poverty, education, employment, health and the criminal justice system. The Commission, which is independent of the Government, will look at outcomes for the whole population.

Find out more about the Commission here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/commission-on-race-and-ethnic-disparities
2 March 2021

Petition closed
2 September 2020

Petition published

This petition can now be signed.

If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

This petition will stay open until 2 March 2021.

Closed petition Undertake an equality impact assessment on the use of the label BAME

Petition progress

Related activity

What did the report say about language?

What is the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities?

Petition closed

Petition published

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