Modernity, anti‐racism and ethnic managerialism

Equal opportunities policies and nursing employment within the British National Health Service

“…Therefore, even if fully implemented these would not necessarily produce ‘equity’ in terms of distributional outcomes. The aims of EO policies are often not clearly articulated but appear to be grounded, especially the governance or managerialist strategies of the 1990s, firmly in the modernist approach to issues of racism and ethnicity (Law 1997).…”

“…The concept of ethnic managerialism has been proposed by Ian Law (1996, 1997) to refer to the ways in which the ‘new managerialism’ of the 1980s and 1990s is manifesting itself in the race and ethnicity arena. Key features include devolving organizational legitimacy and authority to managers (and hence challenging professionalism and black‐led activism) and developing a rational approach to ethnic issues through strategic management and objective setting.…”

“…Addressing the issue of minority ethnic representation on NHS Boards costs very little and yet is a high profile activity. As Law (1997) has pointed out, while this is a welcome development, the argument that the achievement of some minimum level of minority ethnic representation on boards of NHS Trusts or health authorities will lead to increased attention to minority ethnic health needs or indeed employment prospects, is often exaggerated. The whole notion of representation is problematic.…”

“…This may be a further reason why the NHS has been insulated from antiracist ideas for so long. Opportunities for participation by local black health groups in the formation of health policy and local service provision have been very limited (Ward 1993, Law 1997). Such participation is crucial if policies are to move beyond the symbolic (Solomos 1987).…”

Contemporary British Feminism: A social movement in abeyance?

“…Secondly, activists have become 'professionalized', engaging in more unobtrusive forms of mobilization within the state, as there is often no longer any outside pressure from the social movement (Lawrence and Turner 1999). These developments risk the danger of degenerating into 'gender managerialism' comparable with the ethnic managerialism that has characterized some attempts to deal with ethnic inequalities in public services (Law 1999). In these circumstances what was a goal of an insurgent social movement-gender equality-becomes a managerial goal, and those affected do not perceive the political origins of equal opportunities practices.…”