Racial disadvantage and ethnic identity: The experiences of Afro‐Caribbean women in a British city

This article explores the way Afro‐Caribbean women in present‐day British society perceive their position as ‘racial'/ethnic minorities in the context of their gender and their class position. It is based on qualitative research involving in‐depth interviews conducted with 20 women living in Oxford. By focusing on women representing the large and increasing number of Afro‐Caribbean women in intermediate and junior non‐manual employment, and by locating the research in a relatively affluent area of lesser Afro‐Caribbean concentration, it contributes towards exploring the diversity and complexity of Afro‐Caribbean experience. The main finding of the article is that the interviewees manifest a dynamic form of ‘ethnic encapsulation’ which involves combining a strong identification and interaction with other Afro‐Caribbeans in the local community, with positive individual strategies to combat the racism they perceive as affecting themselves and their families in education, employment and community life. These strategies can be interpreted in terms of the women's access to structural opportunities as white collar workers in a gendered labour market in an affluent locality.