In May 2014 the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) Poverty and Ethnicity programme published research examining economic and social mobility among ethnic minority groups in Northern Ireland, following a period of unprecedented inward migration.
The report by Jenny Irwin from RSM McClure Watters (Consulting) Ltd and Dr Ruth McAreavey from Queen’s University Belfast, finds that Northern Ireland’s economy is wasting the potential of some of its most skilled and motivated workers. It recommends that the Northern Ireland Executive shows leadership by demanding that employers treat people fairly and reviewing its own services to make sure that people from all ethnic groups are getting the support they need to improve their circumstances.
The Poverty and Ethnicity programme was launched in 2011 and has included research on the effects of social networks, workplace cultures, a review of the evidence on specific issues facing Northern Ireland and an exploration of the experiences of different ethnic groups in Wales.