Exposing the racial wealth divide in South Africa and the UK

Over recent years there has been growing interest in measuring and analysing the stark racial wealth gap which exists across in many nations. In the UK, the Runnymede Trust’s 2020 The Colour of Money report pointed to systematic racial inequalities in the UK, with white Bangladeshi and Black African households having only 10% of the average wealth of white British households. Mike Savage’s collaborations with South African and UK based researchers exploring how the racial wealth divide is experienced and perceived across differing racialised communities has encouraged considerable debate and interest. A feature of this work is the use of peer based community research methods, so that the voices of marginalised communities are heard, and in a way which helps to empower such groups to reflect on and mobilise on the research findings.

Since February 2023, we have been working with the Young Foundation to explore Londoners’ perspectives on this ‘racial wealth divide’. Four peer researchers were recruited from different communities across London to speak with Indian, Bangladeshi and Black participants. Starting with an analysis workshop and discussions at 'Building Bridges', co-hosted with the Runnymede Trust’, we have begun the process of comparing how different communities in the capital think about and define wealth. 

Inspiring sessions were held in Cape Town in March 2023, as part of the Transforming Social Inequalities Through Inclusive Climate Action (TSITICA) conference. A major academic initiative is the application of geometric data analysis methods, previously largely confined to the study of inequality in European nations, to South Africa, where they reveal stark features of racialised wealth divides. We are interested in building on recent scholarship which links racial wealth gaps to the long-term history of colonialism and slavery, and their long-term legacies. We also seek to consider how these are marked in the contemporary understandings of wealth and consider how far different groups root these in the colonial past and appropriation.

Sub-projects: 

• The scale and drivers of ethnic wealth gaps across the wealth distribution in the UK: evidence from Understanding Society

• Building Bridges: connecting stories and championing racial justice