People from ethnic minorities are more likely than white people to report a set of negative experiences linked to unconscious bias

The following questions were put to 1,000 black, Asian and minority ethnic people and 1,797 white people. In every case, the minority respondents were much more likely to report the negative experience. Importantly, these results simply reflect whether each group has experienced each scenario, with no explicit mention made as to why they felt they had experienced them, and therefore do not rely on the possibly subjective question of whether people personally attribute the experience to bias. That makes it less likely that the results could simply be the product of a difference in perception.

When, if at all, was the most recent time you personally experienced the below?

Some minority ethnic respondents who experienced a further set of scenarios attributed these negative experiences to bias

We asked the minority ethnic respondents some more questions about negative everyday experiences, with a follow-up question asking why they felt they had happened. In each case, fewer than half of those who had faced the experiences attributed them to racial bias. But that still meant that, for example, one in four felt they had been stopped at airport security or customs because of their ethnicity.

A significant proportion of minority ethnic respondents had faced the negative experiences recently

We also asked respondents when each scenario had taken place. The findings suggest that people’s experiences of bias are not always historical. For example, 44% of people had heard someone use racist language in their presence within the last year, 29% had been personally racially abused within the last year, and nearly one in 10 had been confused with someone of the same ethnicity within the last week.

Most people from minorities say Britain has a problem with racism, and half say those who treat them in a biased way are unaware of it

Finally, we asked our minority ethnic respondents their opinions on a series of statements about racism and bias.

Methodology: ICM interviewed a representative sample of 1,000 minority ethnic people aged 18+ living in Great Britain online between 17 and 22 October 2018. The data is based on 2011 census data collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In addition to this sample, ICM interviewed 1,797 white people aged 18+ between 19 and 22 October 2018, drawn from a nationally representative sample achieved using its omnibus service. This survey was also conducted online. The figures are drawn from the same data set as the news story but may vary where they have been represented over a different time period.