Ethnic minorities living and working in Britain consider professions including banking, politics, law and journalism, as closed off to them.

The Race for Opportunity report Aspiration and Frustration is an in-depth survey of the attitudes of 1,500 people from all the main ethnic groups living in the UK, including white Britons.

It investigates how different ethnic groups view their prospects of employment and promotion and reveals shockingly that racism is still prevalent in the workplace.

The report shows that despite ethnic minorities having a strong work ethic and high career aspirations, more so than white Britons, many rule out careers in the professions because of perceptions of racism.

The objective of the survey was to find out how certain industries in the UK are perceived by Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people. In so doing, it sought respondent opinions on eight professions which included those seen as the best paid in the country and others that have high status or profile within the community.

A total of 1,500 people were interviewed for the survey and responded to questions about their opinions and aspirations for careers in the following sectors: Politics, Armed Forces, Police, Medicine, Banking/finance, Legal/law, Education, Media (incl. PR, journalism).

In terms of participants, the largest group was Indian (15%) followed by white British, white mixed race and Pakistani each 14%, and Black Caribbean/Other Black at 13%.

Among the key findings from the report was evidence that despite high levels of aspiration among ethnic minorities, a majority sees many of the key professions – especially those that offer the potential for the highest salaries – as being closed off to them.

It was also clear from the respondents that employers with an historic reputation for racism are still seen as unwelcoming to ethnic minorities. The police, despite considerable effort spent wooing ethnic minorities, is still regarded as deeply racist: close to half of all respondents, including white Britons, subscribe to this view, rising to 72% for Black Caribbeans.

Despite a strong desire from ethnic minorities, there are few role models in the key professions, which may explain the negative image they appear to have.

The survey responses highlighted that blatant racism is still far too prevalent in the workplace. While only a minority has suffered it, for those who have, the pattern of behaviour can be highly offensive and at worst seems unchanged from the 1970s.

Within the report there is sub-data that extracts the opinion and views of each ethnic group

The report's authors have set out a number of recommendations to policy makers, educators and employers, including an appeal to the new UK coalition Government to clearly demonstrate its commitment to tear down the barriers of social mobility set out within its coalition document programme for government ‘Freedom Fairness Responsibility' by ensuring a focus on race.

Recommendations also include that the range of measures the UK government plans to introduce to end discrimination at work, including promoting equal pay, takes full account of race as well as gender. Government is also urged to extend its commitment to promote gender equality on boards of listed companies to also include race diversity, and to widely promote its plans for providing internships for BAME people in every Whitehall department as a practice to be followed by private sector employers.

The report's authors also recommend that school curricula include courses that will assist entry into the professions, particularly careers such as Law, Accountancy and Banking where BAME students are under-represented.

Schools, colleges and universities are urged to must make sure that students see these careers as viable opportunities. In particular, these institutions should widen career support networks to include the professions; train careers officers in cultural awareness and ensure that they work towards meeting the aspirations of BAME people instead of pigeon-holing them into stereotypically "ethnic" jobs; and work with employers to bring BAME role models to school, college and university careers events.

Employers within the main professions need to look at why they currently risk putting off potential BAME candidates from seeking a career with them, the report concludes.

They should work together to agree a common approach to promoting access to industry sectors, ensuring BAME talent is not lost; utilising mentoring programmes and activities. Employers should also commit to producing diverse shortlists for vacancies, particularly in those sectors that this report has shown are seen as off limits, uninviting or unsupportive.

Employers are encouraged to make it clear in their recruitment materials that they welcome candidates from BAME backgrounds and ensure that there are no issues that present "invisible" barriers to minorities, while senior leaders are urged to promote mentoring within their organisations through personal example and encouraging employees to participate in mentoring activities within their workplaces and communities.

Employers can assist by encouraging more experienced BAME employees to join networks such as Business in the Community's MERLIN (Minority Ethnic Role Models for Learning and Inspiration) mentoring and role model program for young people.

"The challenge is to ensure that for ethnic minority candidates the door to the city law firm is as open as the call centre, and that being a public leader is as normal as sitting behind a supermarket till," says Sandra Kerr, National Campaign Director, Race for Opportunity.

The report shows that despite ethnic minorities having a strong work ethic and high career aspirations, more so than white Britons, many rule out careers in the professions because of perceptions of racism.

The study showed that no profession was seen as devoid of racism. Similarly, over a fifth of Black Caribbeans consider the media and legal industries to be either subtly or overtly racist. Worryingly, more than a quarter cited politics as another problem area, rising to 30% when white respondents were excluded and 39% for the Black Caribbean group.

"The results from the survey show there is still much work to be done," says Sandra Kerr. "The results are a call to action for politicians, employers and educators to look harder at how they can ensure that these professions are seen as truly equal opportunity employers."