I was invited to speak at the inaugural meeting of Camden's new Committe for Muslim Organisations which took place last Friday. I addressed the meeting along with our local MP, Frank Dobson. It was a good opportunity to make contact with a full range of organisations from different Bangladeshi community groups to Somali groups too, and useful to get a good understanding of the issues that are a concern to them.
I spoke about worklessness levels especially for women which is one of the major problems in the large Bangladeshi community. The audience recognised this as an issue as well as male unemployment. They were very responsive and clear about what they saw as solutions. They key solution for them was ensuring a skills match amongst the local BME community and the jobs that were available in the area - especially the construction sector. They did not know that a construction training centre had been set up in Kings X for just this purpose. Unbelievably this did not seem to have been communicated to these local organisations.
Other issues for the community included after school or supplementary education for their children to raise their educational levels, provision of halal meat in schools, a burial ground for muslims and a mosque and cultural centre. There has to date been cross-party support for the mosque but it looks as if the other parties are dragging their feet on finding some land. I offered to play a part in pushing the Council to find some land possibly through a s.106 planning agreement in relation to the new Euston development.
All in all it was a great evening for me - it was good to spend some time with fellow immigrants from the sub-continent and explore the issues that affect immigrants in London and try and work together to improve their situation.
Saturday 16 August 2008
Justice for Ethnic Minority Lawyers
A report, published by Lord Ouseley this week, showed that black and minority ethnic lawyers are disproportionately targeted by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority.
It highlights the continuing presence of discrimination in many areas of society,and that much work is still needed before organisations like the SRA can claim to be truly fair and even-handed.
As both a lawyer and a member of the government's 14-strong Black,Asian and Minority Ethnic Women Councillors' Taskforce, I felt it was important that I responded to this report.
I would like to see the Law Society, the SRA and organisations representing BME solicitors work together to tackle these problems and show other organisations what can be done.
Rather shockingly, the Ouseley Review found 'evidence of some stereotyping' within the SRA, which led to an assumption of guilt in respect of lawyers from some communities even before an investigation had begun. It also pointed to the focus of regulation on sole practitioners (a higher proportion of black and Asian lawyers are sole practitioners) as a reason for this discrimination.
It found evidence of a greater proportion of BME solicitors referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Board, a greater proportion of cases where a decision was made to intervene in the practice and a disproportionate number barred from student applications or admission to the roll.
While making clear its findings of institutional racism, the report also makes a broad range of recommendations to help eliminate this,from applying equality and diversity strategies to working with the Law Society to develop better systems of support and guidance.
The upside of this review is that it's clear that the public sector equality duties, which have led to impact assessments being carried out, are leading to proper investigation of practices that would previously remain hidden - something that members of the public suspect but cannot establish.
It also reveals how affected we all are by stereotypes of different communities and how this affects the ability of people to be scrupulously fair. Being fair and even-handed is something that we in the UK pride ourselves on and I hope that this report will lead to consideration as to how we can surmount this problem if we are to be a fair multi-cultural society.
For the legal profession it also raises other issues - why do more ethnic minorities become sole practitioners? What are the barriers to them achieving success in larger firms and how can this be tackled? Do sole practitioners require greater assistance and support?
This issue of support and guidance is of increasing importance as fees for legal aid practitioners are cut and lawyers in this sector, who are disproportionately BME, will have to operate on lower incomes.
There is a lot more work to be done to address these issues as well as the disproportionate representation in certain aspects of work of the SRA. I hope to see the Law Society, the SRA and organizations representing BME solicitors work together to tackle these problems and show other organisations what can be done.
It highlights the continuing presence of discrimination in many areas of society,and that much work is still needed before organisations like the SRA can claim to be truly fair and even-handed.
As both a lawyer and a member of the government's 14-strong Black,Asian and Minority Ethnic Women Councillors' Taskforce, I felt it was important that I responded to this report.
I would like to see the Law Society, the SRA and organisations representing BME solicitors work together to tackle these problems and show other organisations what can be done.
Rather shockingly, the Ouseley Review found 'evidence of some stereotyping' within the SRA, which led to an assumption of guilt in respect of lawyers from some communities even before an investigation had begun. It also pointed to the focus of regulation on sole practitioners (a higher proportion of black and Asian lawyers are sole practitioners) as a reason for this discrimination.
It found evidence of a greater proportion of BME solicitors referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Board, a greater proportion of cases where a decision was made to intervene in the practice and a disproportionate number barred from student applications or admission to the roll.
While making clear its findings of institutional racism, the report also makes a broad range of recommendations to help eliminate this,from applying equality and diversity strategies to working with the Law Society to develop better systems of support and guidance.
The upside of this review is that it's clear that the public sector equality duties, which have led to impact assessments being carried out, are leading to proper investigation of practices that would previously remain hidden - something that members of the public suspect but cannot establish.
It also reveals how affected we all are by stereotypes of different communities and how this affects the ability of people to be scrupulously fair. Being fair and even-handed is something that we in the UK pride ourselves on and I hope that this report will lead to consideration as to how we can surmount this problem if we are to be a fair multi-cultural society.
For the legal profession it also raises other issues - why do more ethnic minorities become sole practitioners? What are the barriers to them achieving success in larger firms and how can this be tackled? Do sole practitioners require greater assistance and support?
This issue of support and guidance is of increasing importance as fees for legal aid practitioners are cut and lawyers in this sector, who are disproportionately BME, will have to operate on lower incomes.
There is a lot more work to be done to address these issues as well as the disproportionate representation in certain aspects of work of the SRA. I hope to see the Law Society, the SRA and organizations representing BME solicitors work together to tackle these problems and show other organisations what can be done.
Saturday 2 August 2008
Statement for Equality and Diversity Co-ordinator
I am standing for the Executive, for the post of Equality and Diversity Co-ordinator. This is my official statement, that will go out with the ballot.
A committed Councillor & activist
As a committed Green Party Councillor and activist I am hugely excited by the creation of this new position on the Party’s Executive.
Working to increase women BME councillors
I have recently been appointed to a Government Equalities Office national taskforce. This seeks specifically to increase the number of women BME councillors in England and Wales, and the opportunity to dovetail this role with that of Green Party Equality & Diversity Coordinator would be exceptional.
Representing all groups facing discrimination
I am ambitious for the role and would want diversity to mean all diversities. I would work to develop for the Party both internal and external facing strategies, helping it to reflect better all sectors of society as well as widening its local and national policy engagements with them.
Working for rights, Trades Unions & against discrimination
Currently I work as an advisory lawyer for Defra, on policy secondment to their soil protection program. I established a diversity group in Defra Legal and am currently a member of the Natural Environment Group's Diversity Group.
My other relevant experience includes:
I am 39 and of East African Asian background. After graduating from Oxford University with a 2.1 in Philosophy, Politics and Economics I went on to gain a Masters in Law at University College London (SOAS), where my submission papers included comparative human rights and ethnic minorities and the law.
A committed Councillor & activist
As a committed Green Party Councillor and activist I am hugely excited by the creation of this new position on the Party’s Executive.
Working to increase women BME councillors
I have recently been appointed to a Government Equalities Office national taskforce. This seeks specifically to increase the number of women BME councillors in England and Wales, and the opportunity to dovetail this role with that of Green Party Equality & Diversity Coordinator would be exceptional.
Representing all groups facing discrimination
I am ambitious for the role and would want diversity to mean all diversities. I would work to develop for the Party both internal and external facing strategies, helping it to reflect better all sectors of society as well as widening its local and national policy engagements with them.
Working for rights, Trades Unions & against discrimination
Currently I work as an advisory lawyer for Defra, on policy secondment to their soil protection program. I established a diversity group in Defra Legal and am currently a member of the Natural Environment Group's Diversity Group.
My other relevant experience includes:
- Working for a Southall Monitoring Group speaking for minorities, especially Asian and Somali, in seeking to address problems of racial violence, domestic violence and employment discrimination.
- Working in a legal aid firm in Southall, helping to bring one of the first services claims under the Disability Discrimination Act 1996.
- Working for Trade Union law firm Rowley Ashworth, where my casework included race, gender and disability discrimination cases.
- Seeking to address high levels of worklessness in certain sectors of the population including BME, disabled and lone parents as one of three councilors on a Camden Worklessness Taskforce.
I am 39 and of East African Asian background. After graduating from Oxford University with a 2.1 in Philosophy, Politics and Economics I went on to gain a Masters in Law at University College London (SOAS), where my submission papers included comparative human rights and ethnic minorities and the law.
I would be honoured to serve as the Equality and Diversity Coordinator on the Green Party Executive and delighted therefore if you would consider voting for me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)