British perceptions of racism and inequality: one year after George Floyd

• Britons are split over the attention paid to racism over the last year: three in ten think it has been discussed too much, and three in ten too little.
• A majority say more needs to be done to tackle racism
• Black African people and Gypsies, Roma and Travellers are seen as those treated most unfairly by society 

Is racism discussed enough?

The death of George Floyd on 25th May 2020 sparked a global conversation about racism and inequalities, but one year on British public opinion is split as to whether racism is discussed too much or too little. Three in ten (28%) say it has been discussed too much while 30% say it has been spoken about too little and a third (33%) believe it has been discussed about the right amount. These findings are echoed in our qualitative research with an online community of ethnic minorities, which show that for some the past year has encouraged them to talk about racism more openly whereas others feel much less comfortable talking about it. 

However, there are clear differences among the population:

• Young people, aged 16-24, are more likely than older groups to say it has been discussed too little, 41% feel this way while just 12% think it is discussed too much.  But this balance of opinion is reversed among older people aged 55-75: 42% of them think racism is discussed too much, 22% too little. 
• People from ethnic minority groups are significantly more likely to say it has been discussed too little, compared with those from White ethnic groups, by 47% vs 27%.  This rises to six in ten among Black people and those from mixed ethnic backgrounds.
• Four in ten Labour and Remain voters think racism is discussed too little (43% and 41% respectively), but around half of Conservative and Leave voters think it is discussed too much (50% and 46%).

How much needs to be done to tackle racism?

A majority of Britons (54%) say that we need to do more to tackle racism faced by ethnic minorities in Britain today. Just under one in five (17%) say we are already doing enough to fight this type of discrimination while 13% think we are doing more than is needed. 

• Two-thirds (65%) of people from ethnic minority groups say more needs to be done to fight racism, compared with 52% of people from White ethnic backgrounds
• Young people are more likely to say more needs to be done, 58% of 16-34-year olds want more action to be taken while just under half of 55-75s feel the same (47%). 
• Labour and Remain voters are particularly likely to say more needs to be done to tackle racism (seven in ten of both). Four in ten Conservative and Leave supporters feel the same way – around one in four think enough is being done and one in five that more is being done than necessary.
• On this question, half of respondents were asked whether more should be done to tackle the inequalities – rather than racism - faced by ethnic minorities.  At an overall level, this makes little difference to the results, with 50% agreeing more needs to be done to tackle these inequalities.  However, there is slightly more difference when looking at the views of under 55s, 57% of whom think more should be done to tackle racism, compared with 51% who think more should be done when it is framed as reducing inequalities faced by ethnic minorities. 

Who is treated most unfairly by society?

Britons are most likely to see Black African people and Gypsies, Roma and Travellers as the groups treated most unfairly by society (27% and 25% respectively). Around one in five say Black Caribbean people (19%) and Pakistani people (18%) are among the most poorly treated people in Great Britain.  One in eight say White people are treated most unfairly by society (13%).

• Young people aged 16-34 are particularly likely to highlight Black African people (37%), while older people are most likely to pick Gypsies, Roma and Travellers (29% of those aged 55-75). 
• Black respondents are equally likely to pick out Black African (53%) and Black Caribbean (54%) people as those who are treated most unfairly by society, while Asian respondents are most likely to say Black African (40%) and Pakistani (33%) people.  
• Labour and Remain voters are more likely to say several ethnic minority groups are treated unfairly by society.  One in five Conservative and Leave voters say White people are those treated most unfairly. 

Kully Kaur-Ballagan, Research Director at Ipsos said:

As we mark the anniversary of the death of George Floyd, the conversation on racism over the last year has been brought to the fore, yet the public is fairly evenly split on whether we are giving the issue too much attention or too little – with clear differences by age, ethnicity, and political support. These findings are confirmed in our qualitative research among ethnic minorities who feel split on whether the last year has made them feel more or less comfortable talking about race and racism. The majority of the public, though, do acknowledge that more needs to be done to tackle the racism that ethnic minorities in Britain face today – particularly among ethnic minorities themselves.  

Technical Details 

• Ipsos interviewed an overall online sample of 2,600 adults aged 16-75 years across Great Britain between 7-13 May 2021.  The sample comprises a nationally representative sample of 2,200 people and a further boost of 400 ethnic minority respondents, giving an overall sample of 2,600 people.  
• In total, 667 ethnic minority people were interviewed as part of this survey, including 200 Black/Black British people, 316 Asian/Asian British and 139 people from a Mixed or multiple ethnic group. Data are weighted to the profile of the population and the ethnic minority sample is weighted to the overall profile of the ethnic minority population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.