Updates 2023/03/03
Race and ethnicity are commonly used and are often used interchangeably. However, they evolved in different ways and do not hold the same meaning (although there is overlap).
Race
Race is a categorisation that was based mainly on physical attributes or traits, assigning people to a specific race simply by having similar appearances or skin colour (for example, Black or white).
The categorisation is rooted in white supremacy and efforts to prove biological superiority and maintain dominance over others.
It’s now widely accepted that race is a social construct. However, having been racialised and shared common experiences of racism, racial identity is important to many and can be a basis for collective organising and support for racially minoritised individuals.
Ethnicity
Ethnicity is broader than race and has usually been used to refer to long shared cultural experiences, religious practices, traditions, ancestry, language, dialect or national origins (for example, African-Caribbean, Indian, Irish).
Ethnicity can be seen as a more positive identity than one forged from the shared negative experiences of racism. It’s more commonly used and asked about within diversity questionnaires in the UK.
Equality Act definitions
In the Equality Act 2010, the protected characteristic of ‘race’ is defined as including colour, ethnic or national origin, or nationality.
There is some overlap with the characteristic of religion or belief too with Jews and Sikhs considered to be ethnic groups under the act, although Muslims are not considered an ethnic group but a religious group only under the act’s definitions.
Ethnic minority, minority ethnic or minoritised ethnic
These terms usually refer to racial and ethnic groups that are in a minority in the population.
In the UK, they usually cover all ethnic groups except White British. For example, they include white minority ethnic groups such as Polish or Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller.
‘Minority ethnic’ is sometimes preferred over ‘ethnic minority’.
‘Minoritised ethnic’ (or the similar term ‘racially minoritised’) has been recommended more recently as it recognises that individuals have been minoritised through social processes of power and domination rather than just existing in distinct statistical minorities. It also better reflects the fact that ethnic groups that are minorities in the UK are majorities in the global population.
You should take care when using umbrella terms such as these. Users should be aware of the negative consequences of grouping all minoritised individuals together in this way, especially when there is significant diversity between them.
‘BAME’ and ‘BME’
These acronyms have been used to refer to people of non-white ethnicities who are minoritised in the UK. Note that these two categories do not tend to include white minority ethnic groups but they include mixed ethnicity. ONS suggests not using these terms.
Both ‘BAME’ (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) and ‘BME’ (Black and minority ethnic) are often used when making comparisons with the white population in the UK and reflect a common way of gathering and collating statistics, for example, by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and in company diversity monitoring.
‘BAME’ became more frequently used than ‘BME’ to recognise the significant and distinct Asian population in the UK. It should be noted too that the ‘Asian’ category used by the ONS includes South Asian ethnicities (for example, Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani) and East Asian ethnicities (for example, Chinese).
Use of the term ‘BAME’ has been increasingly criticised.
Terms such as ‘BAME’ or ‘BME’ should not be used as a replacement for directly addressing a specific racial or ethnic group or individual when that is who we are speaking about. They are not adjectives and do not describe an individual identity. For example, avoid saying: “He’s a BAME solicitor.” Where possible be specific and say “he’s a Black solicitor” or “she’s an Asian solicitor”.
People of Colour
This is primarily used in the USA and has not been fully adopted within the UK although it has become more popular.
Some perceive it as a more positive term than ‘BAME’ or ‘BME’.
However, others see it as similarly problematic, in that it groups together people of great ethnic diversity and different shared experiences and identities.
Ethnic groups in England and Wales census 2021
The ethnic group question has two stages. Firstly, a person identifies through one of the following five high-level ethnic groups:
- “Asian, Asian British, Asian Welsh”
- Bangladeshi
- Chinese
- Indian
- Pakistani
- Other Asian
- “Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African”
- “Mixed or Multiple”
- “White”
- English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British
- Irish
- Gypsy or Irish Traveller
- Roma
- Other White
- “Other ethnic group”
Secondly, a person identifies through one of the 19 available response options, which include categories with write-in response options.