Childcare's role amid poverty

By Lucinda Platt, University of Essex

Research commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has drawn attention to the stark differences in poverty risks that face people from different ethnic groups. Poverty rates are higher for those from all minority groups compared with the white majority, with particularly high rates for Pakistanis and Bangladeshis - a shocking two-thirds of children from these groups face poverty.

In my overview of existing research into poverty, I draw attention to research indicating disadvantage in employment, and how it intersects with other aspects of groups' experience.

Minority groups face higher risks of unemployment. Substantial proportions are also out of the labour market for other reasons, such as ill-health and family responsibilities. Fifty per cent of working-age Pakistani and Bangladeshi families with children contain someone with a long-term illness, resulting in high rates of workless households. Low pay for men and low employment rates among women also mean poverty in working households.