Alwaght- Young Muslims living in the UK face an enormous social mobility challenge and are being held back from reaching their full potential at every stage of their lives, a report by Britain's Social Mobility Commission (SMC) has found.
The report uncovers significant barriers to improved social mobility for young Muslims from school through university and into the workplace - with many reporting experience of Islamophobia, discrimination and racism.
The study found 19.8% of Muslims aged 16-to-74 were in full-time employment, compared with 34.9% of the overall population.
Only 6% of Muslims are in ‘higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations’ compared to 10% of the overall population. They also have slightly lower levels of qualifications, with approximately a quarter of Muslims over the age of 16 having ‘level 4 and above’ (degree-level and above) qualifications.
Moreover, nearly half of the Muslim population (46%) live in the 10% of the most deprived local authority districts. This has implications for access to resources, school attainment, progression to higher education and the availability of jobs, including those at postgraduate or managerial levels. These inequalities vary by region, with the Midlands experiencing the largest margin of inequality and the South the smallest.
Alan Milburn, the former cabinet minister who now heads the government-sponsored Social Mobility Commission, said the research painted a disturbing picture.
“The British social mobility promise is that hard work will be rewarded. Unfortunately, for many young Muslims in Britain today this promise is being broken,” he said. There are around 3 million Muslims living in Britain.
Islamophobia and discrimination have seen a dramatic spike in the country in the wake of Manchester and London terror attacks earlier this year.
