Ethnic minority communities are the least visible in the environmental sector. Welsh climate specialist Salamatu Fada highlights why representation is lacking and what Wales can do to remedy this.
When Terry Howe and climate activists from Friends of the Earth organised an environmental awareness event in Grangetown, Cardiff, I ended up being the only person of colour to attend. My presence as the lone, ethnically diverse straggler in the room didn’t surprise the activists. Their last event, too, saw an absence of ethnic minorities, despite being advertised to the local mosque and Sikh temple.
The event was organised to raise awareness about poorly insulated homes in Grangetown, a neighbourhood where almost 46% of the population identified as Asian, Black, Mixed, and Other ethnic groups in the last census. About a fifth of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions originate from heating homes, and poorly insulated homes can lead to higher energy bills.
“In Grangetown, a friend of ours identified a particular census district as being one of the coldest in the country, coldest as defined by poor insulation and low income,” says Terry. “We thought we’d use that as a springboard to do lots of thermal imaging. We used a thermal imaging camera and took images of houses to show how poorly insulated they were.”
Ethnic minority communities are often the most vulnerable to climate crises, such as poorly adapted housing, but they are the least represented in the environmental sector. In the UK, this sector ranks among the least racially diverse professions, with only 4.5% of individuals identifying as Black, Asian, or belonging to other minority ethnic groups, compared to 16% across all occupations.
Wales also doesn’t fare much better than the rest of the country. A recent report by the Welsh government acknowledged that bringing diversity to the sector has been challenging.
“We generally have had no one of colour in our group,” says Terry. “We look white, which could be a problem, but we would like this to change.”
Councillor Salamatu Fada, a climate action specialist and anti-racism advisor to the Welsh government, says cultural experiences may influence whether someone from an ethnic or religious minority wants to enter the environmental sector.
“Some minority communities place higher value on other professions, like medicine, law or engineering,” she says.
“Imagine somebody, maybe from India or Nigeria, coming with a young family. They come to the UK and settle down. If you have children, you want to make sure that they are educated enough and go into successful careers. The journey is difficult for such migrants. So, they tend to encourage their children to go into certain careers.”
Even when a person of colour is interested in climate change and the environment, larger unaddressed problems may hinder participation in the sector.
“Historically, the environmental sector has been less diverse, and this can create a workplace culture that is not always welcoming or inclusive to people from different backgrounds,” says Cllr Salamatu. “This can lead to feelings of isolation and lack of belonging for ethnic minorities”
“There are broader issues of systemic racism and discrimination that affect all sectors, including, of course, the environmental sector. These issues can manifest in hiring practices, career progression and, generally, the workplace dynamics.”
Even for Cllr Salamatu, getting a job was challenging after graduating. “I have been in the UK for many years, and I did my PhD in Conservation Biology here. When I finished, I thought I would find a job immediately or get something that could give me an income.
“I have had to attend so many interviews in the environmental sector. Even with a PhD, it wasn’t easy to get a job. I understand and resonate with the many people who come here and want to start careers in this sector.”
Unless ethnic minorities are given a seat at the climate-action table, environmental organisations will find it hard to identify and tackle the kind of issues Terry and his team are campaigning about.
“When you have a diverse team, it brings a variety of perspectives and experiences, which can lead to more innovative solutions to environmental challenges,” says Cllr Salamatu. “Different cultural backgrounds can provide unique insights into how environmental issues affect various communities.
“Ensuring that the workforce reflects the diversity of the population helps ensure that all communities are represented in decision-making processes. This can lead to more equitable and inclusive policies and practices.”
While bringing diverse voices into decision-making at the top is essential, it’s also important for the government and organisations to engage with communities at a grassroots level.
“We need to provide education about environmental issues and career opportunities,” says Cllr Salamatu. “Raise awareness and interest among diverse communities. This can be done through school programs, community workshops and public campaigns.”
Efforts are underway to address the issue. “Most of it is recent”, says Cllr Salamatu. “It’s mostly post-Covid that this issue started coming up.” Her team at the environmental group Climate Cymru BAME are developing a plan to increase the participation of minority ethnic groups in the sector, which is in line with Wales’s Anti-Racist Action Plan.
While the issue of representation has steadily started to get the attention it deserves, there is still a long way to go before more people like Salamatu get a seat at the table and open doors for the rest of us.
“I am one of the few ethnic minority individuals I know who holds a PhD and is engaged in environmental work,” she says. “If I look above me, there’s nobody for me to see in the space. My colleagues are also very few. I get to have this opportunity to share my experience with ethnic minority groups. But once I’m not there, who does this?