Racialised institutions in the UK welfare state

Eseonu, Temidayo (2024) Racialised institutions in the UK welfare state. In: Diversity and Welfare Provision Tension and Discrimination in 21st Century Britain :. Bristol Policy Press, Bristol, pp. 78-96. ISBN 9781447365150

Abstract

This chapter discusses key theories of racialisation applied to the UK welfare state. These theories suggest that racialisation occurs when racial categories grounded in histories of oppression manifest in contemporary social institutions, resulting in racial hierarchies in society (Omi and Winant, 2015; Feagin, 2006, Bonilla-Silva, 1997). Consequently, the core argument is that institutions are racialised when formal rules, informal conventions (practices) and narratives (Lowndes and Roberts, 2013) perpetuate the exclusion and subordination of racially minoritised people at the macro, meso and micro levels (Phillips, 2011). This chapter uses Universal Credit as a case to illustrate how institutions in the UK welfare state are racialised. It concludes with reflections on how these institutions could be reimagined.