What is breaking the social mobility promise for young Muslims?

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In December 2016, the Social Mobility Commission launched a report revealing stark gender, ethnic and socio-economic inequalities in educational attainment and labour market progress. We found a 'broken social mobility promise' for young Asian Muslims where educational attainment was not translating to labour market outcomes. This broken promise was a particular issue for Asian Muslims who appeared to be facing barriers on top of the ethnic penalty in employment - they are on average less likely to translate graduate qualifications into employment with matched status and pay. The research revealed that young people from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds are more likely to succeed in education and go to university, but they are less likely to go on to find employment or secure jobs in managerial or professional occupations. Women, in particular, faced barriers, earning less than their counterparts from other ethnic minority groups. It also explored some of the differences between Muslim groups of different ethnicities. For example, Indian and Bangladeshi Muslim men are able to realise greater returns on their qualifications than Pakistani men, while Bangladeshi women with a level 1-3 qualification have higher chances of achieving a managerial or professional role compared to Pakistani women. The report began to explore the reasons behind this, including factors such as geography, discrimination, cultural expectations and post-16 choices. We are now seeking bids for research to take this 'broken social mobility promise' and understand the real life experiences, attitudes and reasons behind this. Here we are commissioning a focused study on young Muslims entering the labour market from a range of different starting points. This should build on previous studies and seek to explore in detail what the perceived barriers are to translating education attainment into labour market outcomes. This study should specifically focus on young Asian Muslims and the interaction between ethnicity, religion, socio-economic background and their experiences going into the labour market.