Equality, diversity and prejudice in Britain: results from the 2005 National Survey

Britain is an increasingly diverse and multifaceted society. Consequently, manifestations of inequality, prejudice and discrimination are potentially becoming more varied and complex. The meaning of equality itself is a matter of considerable debate. Perceptions, attitudes, stereotypes and emotions permeate social relationships between groups, whether conflictual or harmonious. How are different groups perceived? How do images of different groups map onto prejudice? To what extent do people experience prejudice directed against themselves? There is increasing interest in whether Britain is becoming a more or less tolerant, accepting or indeed coherent society. This report describes the findings of a survey which employed social psychological methods and measures to assess a range of different aspects of prejudice towards six significant groups in British society – defined by gender, age, ethnicity, sexuality, disability and religion. The report examines the values people espouse, their experiences, and their expressions of prejudice, the extent that ‘political correctness’ may affect expressions of prejudice, the social stereotypes underpinning prejudice, whether prejudice is expressed differently towards different types of group, and the extent to which British society is perceived as a cohesive whole or as being formed of distinct and separate groups. It also explores whether prejudice is predominantly an issue of personal attitudes or whether it is rooted more in the relationships between particular social groups