How do ethnic minority married women compare their life in the UK to the life they had in their own country? Research Paper

Aim and Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this paper is to evaluate how the quality of life of married minority women in the United Kingdom compares to their life before migrating to the country. Other objectives of the paper will include:

• Factors that have led to a change in their lives in the UK
• The role of marriage in changing their life in the UK
• Role of gender equity programs in influencing the life of ethnic minority women in the UK
• The influence of race relations in their lives in the UK

Literature review

Before doing any analysis on the status of ethnic minority married migrant women in the UK, the paper will carry out an overview of what the situation of ethnic and migrant women in the country is. The Women and Equality Unit (2004, p 2) asserts that there is a discrepancy skewed to whites favor when it comes to job attainment.

According to Dustmann & Theodoropoulos (2006), the largest minority migrant groups in the UK include Black Caribbean, Black African, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Chinese. The Fawcett Society (2005, p 1) released a report in 2005 with statistics that painted a not so rosy picture.

According to the report, ethnic minority women form only 0.3 Percent of Parliament despite making up to 4% of the population. The report adds that public sectors like the police force, the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords were also underrepresented by ethnic minority women.

Ethnic minority women from south East Asia had a high rate of self murder; almost double that of the general population. This fact points to probable high rates of stress among the group. The report added that on average, white men were likely to earn 56% more than Bangladeshi and Pakistani women.

The Guardian Newspaper carried part of the Fawcett report in 2005 and asserted that “Black and minority women were poorer, less healthy, less educated and significantly less represented in politics, power compared to white women and the general UK population” (Ward, 2005, p 1).

Quoting the Fawcett Society, the paper reported that explicit inequalities exist among Black and minority women. In health, ethnic minority women from Pakistan and Bangladesh were disadvantaged since their babies had almost half the chance of surviving compared to those of whites.

The paper will also analyze the success rates of the immigrant ethnic minority women. According to Dustman & Fabbri (2005) of the Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration, “white female immigrants and their husbands record higher success rate compared to native born white women when earnings are taken into account” (p.2).

The CRAM research on the other hand shows that “minority women and their husband are less successful especially on the lower end of their husband’s distribution of economic potential” (p. 2). CRAM blames low employment for both genders for their low ranking hence low earnings that intensify at the household level.

Another area that is indicative of the status of migrant minority women and that the paper will focus on is employment. In 2005 for instance, the employment rate of ethnic minority immigrants was 47%. Additionally, ethnic minority females were found to work the longest at an average of 33 hours compared to 29 hours white females.

The research also found out that immigrant white women did better than non-white immigrants. For instance, the employment rate of white immigrant women stood at 64% while their average weekly working hours stood at 31 (Dustmann & Francesca 2005).

From the above reports, it is evident that minority women in the UK lead a less fulfilling life compared to white women. The situation is compounded when one is an immigrant because of the difficulties immigrants encounter in securing employment.

It is therefore safe to conclude that most of the minority immigrant women who get married in the UK are likely not to have the same level of life that their white counterparts have. However, considering the fact that these women get married here in the UK to British husbands or citizens, their lives change a little for the better compared to the ones they were leading in their home countries.

Finally, the most important part that the paper will focus on is the comparison between the lives that these minority immigrant women led in their home countries and in the UK. According to Christel (2006) access to jobs, welfare state, labor market and institutional support for women determine the success of women immigrants in Europe especially Britain and Sweden (P. 740).

The author further adds that UK does better in joblessness gaps among married immigrant women than Sweden. Further Christel reports that immigrant women in Britain who have long settled tend to have same level of living like that of natives compared to newcomers (Christel 2006, P.741).

According to Christel therefore, migrant minority women tend to have better life in the UK compared to the ones they were leading in their native countries.

Outline of study design and methodology

A study will be carried out to collect data on the life immigrant minority women and how their lives have changed when married in the UK. Quantitative methods of data collection in the form of a sampling will be employed in the study. A random sample of minority immigrant married women will be chosen from among the population from whom information relating to the subject of study will be collected.

The respondents will be administered with questionnaires containing questions that touch on every aspect that would have changed after their marriages in the UK. The questionnaires will also consist of open and closed questions to ensure qualitative data is also captured in the study.

Given the complexity of obtaining qualified and willing participants, the help of the immigration department will be required. With the necessary permission, the researchers will obtain the addresses of the minority women who match the qualification criteria. An invitation will be sent to them and those willing will to participate. The study will be seeking a sample of 550 minority immigrant married women as respondents.

The questionnaires will be sent electronically to the respondents with clear instructions to respond truthfully to all questions. For credibility purposes, the survey will be aiming to obtain at least 400 responses. The results will be analyzed and compared to already existing studies from Non Governmental Organizations, the government and the media.

Ethical considerations

The study will abide by the following ethical considerations:

Consent

All participation in the study will be on voluntary basis. No respondent will be coerced to participate in the study or give information that he/she does not want. Their consent will first be sought before study of any kind commences.

To that effect, they will be required to sign an agreement that they will participate in the study willingly and their participation therefore means that the information they give will be used in the study. The questionnaire will inform them that they wont be required to answer all questions if they so wish.

Withdrawal

The agreement the respondents will sign, will not be binding at all. All respondents will be informed that they can withdraw from the study at any time. They can do so by disregarding the questionnaire sent to them. They can also do so even after they have filled the questionnaire by informing the leader of the research team through the contacts that will be given.

Confidentiality

The questionnaire and the consent agreement that they will sign will inform them that the information they give will be purely confidential and will be used for study purposes. Respondents will not be required to reveal their names on the questionnaire in order to ensure anonymity hence enhance confidentiality.

Study sample

The sample will constitute 550 respondents who will be randomly chosen through the assistance of the immigration department. The questionnaire will be sent electronically to the willing participants. The study is targeting a response rate of 400 to give credibility to the results.

Study materials

Numerous study materials will be needed for the research, however only electronic questionnaires will be used to collect evidence. It will also use computers for purposes of administering the questioners and also for analysis of the collected data. Additionally, the study will use telephones for communication with respondents but only where necessary.

References

Christel, K. (2006) Social Policy and Immigrant Joblessness in Britain, Germany and Sweden. Social Forces – Vol 85, 2, Dec 2006, pp. 743-770

Dustmann, C. & Fabbri, F. (2005) Gender and Ethnicity-Married immigrants in Britain. Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration. Department of Economics. London: University College London.

Dustmann, C. & Theodoropoulos, N. (2006) Ethnic Minority Immigrants and their Children in Britain. Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration. Department of Economics. London: University College London.

Fawcett Society. (2005) ‘Facts on ethnic minority women’. Web. Available on https://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/ .

Ward, L. (2005) ‘Ethnic minority women face ‘massive inequalities’.’ The Guardian. Nd. 9^th May, 2011, p1.

Women & Equality Unit. (2004) Individual Incomes of Men and Women by Ethnicity. Department of Trade and Industry. Nd