South Asian ethno-religious groups and part time employment pattern

in England and Wales

University of ManchesterReza Afkhami

Abdelouahid Tajar

Manchester 02/09/08

Outline

• Background.• Research questions• Data and method• Explanatory variables• Findings• Concluding remarks

Background

• The nature of employment and employment status varies considerably across ethnic minority populations

• Part-time working may imply lower incomes, poorer working conditions and barriers to full-time work.

• South Asian double discrimination, ethnic and religious ? (Lindley, 2002; Brown, 2000; Weller et al., 2001 )

Characteristics of part time jobs

• Number of hours of work • Work schedules • The level of wages • Access to employment benefits • Employment security • Employee voice • Access to training and career

progress • Variation/flexibility in the number

of hours or in work schedulesCampbell et al. (2005)

Advantages of the voluntary part time work

• Combine care work and paid work • Suitable for people with health

problems/disabilities• Can undertake alongside

education and training • Suitable for older people• Keep some contact with the labour

market

Research questions

• How does religion affiliation explain the variation in ethnic minority’s part time employment pattern?

• Is there an extra “ethnic penalty” that can be explained by religious affiliation while controlling for other factors?

Data and method• The 2001 Licensed Individual SAR is safe data that is

available to registered users for analysis outside ONS. It is a 3 per cent sample and contains 1,843,530 individuals.

• A derived variable constructed out of ethnicity and A derived variable constructed out of ethnicity and religion variables in the 2001 SARsreligion variables in the 2001 SARs

• Analyses focussed on South Asian and white British ethnic groups aged 25 to 74 years old.

• Part time workingPart time working was defined as 30 hours working or less a week.

• Multiple logistic regression technique was used to test how likely the different ethno-religious groups were working part-time compared to their White British Christians counter parts (the largest ethno religious group) in England and Wales.

Derived Ethno-religious variable

White BritishWhite BritishWhite British Christian (WBC)White British Muslim (WBM)White British Other religions (WBO)

IndianIndianIndian Christian (IC)Indian Hindu (IH)Indian Muslim (IM) Indian Other religions (IO)

Other South AsianOther South AsianPakistani Other (PO) Bangladeshi Muslim (BM)Bangladeshi Other (BO)Pakistani Muslim (PM)Other Asian Muslim (OaM)Other Asian Other religions (OaO)

Controlling variables

• Personal characteristics (UK born, age, health, gender)

• Households characteristics (childcare, marital status)

• Human capital (qualification)

Part time by ethno religious groups

WBC=White British Christian; WBM=White British Muslim; WBO=White British Other religions IC=Indian Christian; IH=Indian Hindu; IM=Indian Muslim; IO=Indian Other religions; PM=Pakistani Muslim; PO=Pakistani Other; BM=Bangladeshi Muslim; BO=Bangladeshi Other; OaM=Other Asian Muslim; OaO=Other Asian Other

Ethno-religious and Full/Part time working in England and Wales 2001

73.7

73.7 81

.6

82.9

82.5

70.4 82

.9

74.9

76.6

56.1 69

.4

73.7

79.9

26.3

26.3 18

.4

17.1

17.5

29.6 17

.1

25.2

23.4

43.9 30

.6

26.3

20.1

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

WB

C

WB

M

WB

O IC IH IM IO PM

PO

BM

BO

OaM

OaO

Ethno-religious groups

% PT

FT

Age distributions of ethno religious groups

The age profile of ethno-religious groups

55

.8 63

.8

69

.3

65

.9

69

.5 77

.8

72

.6 81

.2

79

.7 86

.1

76

.5

70

.2

64

.7

37

.9 31

.7 27

.5

30

.4

27

.3 19

.8

24

.5 16

.3

15

.3 11

.9

17

.4

27

.1

31

.8

6.3 4.5 3.3

3.8 3.2 2.4

2.9

2.5

5.0 2.0

6.1 2.8

3.5

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

WB

C

WB

M

WB

O IC IH IM IO PM

PO

BM

BO

Oa

M

Oa

O

Ethno religious groups

%

60+ yr

45-59 yr

25-44 yr

Ethno religious and country of birth

Ethno religious groups and country of birth

1.8

36.9

2.4

82.3

82.6

72.6

62.2 71

.1

66.7

90.0

72.5 86

.0

88.298

.2

63.1

97.6

17.8

17.4

27.4

37.8 28

.9

33.3

10.0

27.6 14

.0

11.8

0

20

40

60

80

100

WB

C

WB

M

WB

O IC IH IM IO PM

PO

BM

BO

OaM

OaO

Ethno-relgious groups

%

UK born

non UK born

Qualifications distribution

Ethno-religious groups and qualification

21.7

21.2

14.7

8.7 18

.7 26.6

22.1 27.5

24.5 37

.6

17.4

17.3

9.7

21.7

13.8

19.3

12.1

12.4

15.4

14.5 13

.2

11.5

12.5

10.2

9.4

12.5

20.9

20.5

20.1

20.1 13

.8

15.3

15.8

12.3

12.3

11.5

9.2

13.1

18.4

6.5

7.7

7.9

5.5 5.

8

5.8

7.4

6.5

7.7

5.7

5.1 9.

8

12.0

21.4

29.5

32.6

51.2

45.3 32

.4

36.1

36.6

38.7 26

.4

55.1 45.3 44.0

7.9

7.4

5.4 2.4

4.1

4.5

4.2

3.9

5.4

6.2 3.1

5.2

3.4

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

WB

C

WB

M

WB

O IC IH IM IO PM

PO

BM

BO

OaM

OaO

Ethno-religious

%

No qualification Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4/5 other qualification

Some Summary Results• Bangladeshi Muslims have the highest

percentage of part time working (44%)• Indian non-Muslims have the lowest

percentage of part timers among all groups

• Both Bangladeshi and Pakistani Muslims have higher percentage of young working age groups

• Only 10% of Bangladeshi Muslims are born in the UK whereas this is more than 98% for White British Christian

• High percentages of people with no qualification are prevalent among Bangladeshi and Pakistani Muslims

Modelling part-time work

Parameter Odds Ratio [95% Conf. Interval]

White British Muslim 1.14 0.82 1.59

White British Other religion 1.01 0.99 1.04

Indian Christian 0.51 0.39 0.67

Indian Hindu 0.45 0.41 0.50

Indian Muslim 2.18 1.78 2.68

Indian other religion 0.40 0.36 0.44

Pakistani Muslim 1.65 1.47 1.85

Pakistani non-Muslim 1.14 0.77 1.69

Bangladeshi Muslim 8.00 6.81 9.40

Bangladeshi non-Muslim 2.42 1.27 4.61

Other Asian Muslim 1.45 1.11 1.89

Other Asian non Muslim 0.62 0.52 0.73Age 45-59 1.08 1.06 1.10Age 60+ 5.79 5.55 6.03Born in the UK 1.01 0.96 1.06qualifications level2 0.92 0.90 0.95qualifications level3 0.81 0.79 0.83qualifications level4 0.72 0.70 0.75qualifications level5 0.86 0.83 0.89qualifications level6 0.81 0.78 0.84Married 2.44 2.37 2.50Remarried 1.94 1.88 2.01Seperated 1.61 1.52 1.70Divorced 1.32 1.28 1.37widowed 1.88 1.72 2.05Women 20.73 20.25 21.22ISCO Technical 1.84 1.79 1.90ISCO Service and skilled 3.00 2.92 3.08Elementary occupations 5.02 4.85 5.19Fairly good 1.11 1.08 1.13Not good 1.19 1.14 1.25has dependant child 2.33 2.29 2.38ROC curve = 0.88

Modelling part-time work (Age)

Parameter Odds Ratio [95% Conf. Interval]

White British Muslim 1.14 0.82 1.59

White British Other religion 1.01 0.99 1.04

Indian Christian 0.51 0.39 0.67

Indian Hindu 0.45 0.41 0.50

Indian Muslim 2.18 1.78 2.68

Indian other religion 0.40 0.36 0.44

Pakistani Muslim 1.65 1.47 1.85

Pakistani non-Muslim 1.14 0.77 1.69

Bangladeshi Muslim 8.00 6.81 9.40

Bangladeshi non-Muslim 2.42 1.27 4.61

Other Asian Muslim 1.45 1.11 1.89

Other Asian non Muslim 0.62 0.52 0.73

Age 45-59 1.08 1.06 1.10Age 60+ 5.79 5.55 6.03Born in the UK 1.01 0.96 1.06qualifications level2 0.92 0.90 0.95qualifications level3 0.81 0.79 0.83qualifications level4 0.72 0.70 0.75qualifications level5 0.86 0.83 0.89qualifications level6 0.81 0.78 0.84Married 2.44 2.37 2.50Remarried 1.94 1.88 2.01Seperated 1.61 1.52 1.70Divorced 1.32 1.28 1.37widowed 1.88 1.72 2.05Women 20.73 20.25 21.22ISCO Technical 1.84 1.79 1.90ISCO Service and skilled 3.00 2.92 3.08Elementary occupations 5.02 4.85 5.19Fairly good 1.11 1.08 1.13Not good 1.19 1.14 1.25has dependant child 2.33 2.29 2.38

Modelling part-time work (Qualification)

Parameter Odds Ratio [95% Conf. Interval]

White British Muslim 1.14 0.82 1.59

White British Other religion 1.01 0.99 1.04

Indian Christian 0.51 0.39 0.67

Indian Hindu 0.45 0.41 0.50

Indian Muslim 2.18 1.78 2.68

Indian other religion 0.40 0.36 0.44

Pakistani Muslim 1.65 1.47 1.85

Pakistani non-Muslim 1.14 0.77 1.69

Bangladeshi Muslim 8.00 6.81 9.40

Bangladeshi non-Muslim 2.42 1.27 4.61

Other Asian Muslim 1.45 1.11 1.89

Other Asian non Muslim 0.62 0.52 0.73Age 45-59 1.08 1.06 1.10Age 60+ 5.79 5.55 6.03Born in the UK 1.01 0.96 1.06

qualifications level2 0.92 0.90 0.95qualifications level3 0.81 0.79 0.83qualifications level4 0.72 0.70 0.75qualifications level5 0.86 0.83 0.89qualifications level6 0.81 0.78 0.84Married 2.44 2.37 2.50Remarried 1.94 1.88 2.01Seperated 1.61 1.52 1.70Divorced 1.32 1.28 1.37widowed 1.88 1.72 2.05Women 20.73 20.25 21.22ISCO Technical 1.84 1.79 1.90ISCO Service and skilled 3.00 2.92 3.08Elementary occupations 5.02 4.85 5.19Fairly good 1.11 1.08 1.13Not good 1.19 1.14 1.25has dependant child 2.33 2.29 2.38

Modelling part-time work (Marital Status)

Parameter Odds Ratio [95% Conf. Interval]

White British Muslim 1.14 0.82 1.59

White British Other religion 1.01 0.99 1.04

Indian Christian 0.51 0.39 0.67

Indian Hindu 0.45 0.41 0.50

Indian Muslim 2.18 1.78 2.68

Indian other religion 0.40 0.36 0.44

Pakistani Muslim 1.65 1.47 1.85

Pakistani non-Muslim 1.14 0.77 1.69

Bangladeshi Muslim 8.00 6.81 9.40

Bangladeshi non-Muslim 2.42 1.27 4.61

Other Asian Muslim 1.45 1.11 1.89

Other Asian non Muslim 0.62 0.52 0.73Age 45-59 1.08 1.06 1.10Age 60+ 5.79 5.55 6.03Born in the UK 1.01 0.96 1.06qualifications level2 0.92 0.90 0.95qualifications level3 0.81 0.79 0.83qualifications level4 0.72 0.70 0.75qualifications level5 0.86 0.83 0.89qualifications level6 0.81 0.78 0.84

Married 2.44 2.37 2.50Remarried 1.94 1.88 2.01Seperated 1.61 1.52 1.70Divorced 1.32 1.28 1.37widowed 1.88 1.72 2.05Women 20.73 20.25 21.22ISCO Technical 1.84 1.79 1.90ISCO Service and skilled 3.00 2.92 3.08Elementary occupations 5.02 4.85 5.19Fairly good 1.11 1.08 1.13Not good 1.19 1.14 1.25has dependant child 2.33 2.29 2.38

Odds ratios for part time working

0

2

4

6

8

10

Od

ds

rati

os

WB

C

WB

M

WB

O IC IH IM IO PM

PO

BM

BO

OaM

OaO

Ethno religious groups

Odds ratios 95% CI

Odds Ratios for Part time working

1

Odds ratios for part time working of ethno-religious groups

Predicted probability of part time working

Adjusted for age, qualification, marital status, gender, isco, health status and dependent children

Probability (Part time)

0.16 0.17 0.16

0.09 0.08

0.29

0.07

0.23

0.17

0.60

0.31

0.21

0.10

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

0.70

WBC WBM WBO IC IH IM IO PM PO BM BO OaM OaO

Ethno-religious groups

Pro

bab

ility

Concluding remarks/further questions

A mixed picture

Concluding remarks/further questions

• Religion is not important explanatory variable for white group in being part timer

• Differences in part time working are significant along religion affiliation for South Asian ethnic minorities

• Age, gender, having qualification and child, job and health status have all impacts on being part timer

• Born in the UK is not significant.

• Is there a cultural or religious dimension to the ethnic penalty?

• Further studies are needed to shed more light on part time labour market in Britain

References• Brown, M. S. 2000 'Religion and Economic Activity in the South Asian

Population', Ethnic and Racial Studies 23(6): 1035-1061. • Campbell I., Chalmers, J. and Charlesworth, S. (2005), The quality of

part-time jobs in Australia: towards an assessment, Centre for Applied Social Research, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia.

• Khattab, N, Sirkeci, I, Modood, T, and Johnston, R. (2006) the impact of residential segregation and thno-religious background on transition from school to work in Britain: a multilevel model. Leverhulme programme on Migration and Citizenship. University of Bristol.

• Lindley, J. (2002), ‘Race or religion? The impact of religion on the employment and earnings of Britain’s ethnic communities’, Journal of ethnic and migration studies 28(3): 427-442.

• L. Simpson, K. Purdam, A. Tajar, E. Fieldhouse, V. Gavalas, M. Tranmer, J. Pritchard and D. Dorling (2006) Ethnic minority populations and the labour market: an analysis of the 1991 and 2001 Census. DWP, report no, 333.

• Weller, P.A., Feldman et al. (2001), Religious Discrimination in England and Wales, Home Office Research Study 220.