Equal Opportunities in a Cold Climate

Abstract

When the editors of this book asked us to combine an examination of race and sex discrimination into one chapter, our initial reaction was one of concern. Those working and writing in these distinct areas have tended to resist the attempt, typically stemming from those who have little political commitment to the pursuit of either, to lump the two areas together. Such combination has served to underemphasise the different nature of the analyses and the different associated political strategies which need to be developed in respect of these disparate areas of social inequality. Such concerns notwithstanding however there are two central reasons why it may be useful to examine the state response to race and sex discrimination together. Firstly there are strong similarities in the statutory frameworks within which sex and race equality legislation has been developed in the UK and direct comparison helps to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of this legislation. The process of comparison moreover can serve to emphasise the contrasts as well as the similarities between these two areas of policy development. Secondly it is useful to consider race and sex-based inequality together because in their operation these two systems of inequality serve to overlap and reinforce one another, and to combine with class inequality to produce a double or triple layered marginality for certain social groups: white working class women, black¹ working class men, black working class women.