The Diversity Study of England and Wales

Authors: Dr Julian Hargreaves, Dr Edward Kessler, David Izamoje, Alissa Symon

Publisher: Woolf Institute

Publication date: December 2020

Abstract: How We Get Along provides the granular evidence requested by many, as well as the information required to better inform national, regional and local policymaking. We are delighted to make our work available for use by the UK Government, the Welsh Senedd, local and combined authorities and city mayors. To help enhance and complement current debates around institutional and structural forms of racism, we placed our focus on relations between everyday people. In doing so, we hope to transcend some of the political tribalism that we believe has hindered previous debates in this field. The report provides evidence that, far from being divided and highly polarised, there is an emerging national consensus that diversity is good for our country, but that the pace of change has been too fast. It also suggests that while racism and xenophobia by individuals may be in decline, negative attitudes towards diversity based on religion, especially Islam, are still widely held. The findings suggest that friendships and workplaces have a vital role to play in bringing people together. Changing work and life patterns as a result of coronavirus may require new local, regional and national approaches by policymakers to help us get along better in the future.