Belonging and identity for entrepreneurs

1. Belonging and identity for entrepreneurs Dr Rick Muir, Research Fellow Institute for Public Policy Research

2. 1. Context • Growing cultural diversity • The rise of individualism • Globalisation – the insertion of the global into the local • Decline of some traditional group identities reassertion of others • Political soul searching about ‘Britishness’, multiculturalism and ‘community cohesion’

3. 2. What is identity? • It is about who we understand ourselves to be • It is essentially both personal and social • It is never fixed: identification is a process in which meaning is constantly asserted, contested and negotiated • It requires individual agency: one cannot be forced to identify with something

4. 2. What is identity? • Different aspects of our identities become more important to us in different contexts • Identities are shaped in part through the interplay of power and resistance • Symbols and narratives play an important role in the communication of identities • Our identities have diverse sources and some are less susceptible to change than others (body, gender, family, ethnicity)

5. 2. What is identity? • Identities are always formed through comparisons of similarity and difference: me and you, them and us etc.

6. 3. Why is it important? • Psychologically it is a precondition for living – eg) without a coherent sense of self we would be unable to live a good life • We have a natural desire to belong to wider groups • We have a natural desire to root ourselves in a longer chronology – stories help give our lives meaning • We have a basic need to distinguish ourselves from others

7. 4. Identities in the UK • National identities • A slight global decline: 1981 31% chose nation as their most important geographical identity, compared to 27% in 1999 • British identity has declined relative to English, Scottish and Welsh identities (1996 52% preferred British, compared to 44% in 2005)

8. 4. Identities in the UK • Local identities (town or local area) • More popular than national identities in the UK: 56% identify with their local area first, 25% with the nation first. • Local identities have become increasingly important in Britain (1990 to 2000 saw a rise in those choosing local identity first) • Slightly more important to members of BME groups than population as a whole. • Local identification is weakest in London

9. 4. Identities in the UK • Cosmopolitan identities • Global identity remains weak • European identity weaker in Britain than in other parts of Europe (10% choose it first – 2004)

10. 4. Identities in the UK • Class • Major change in occupational structure: in 1911 75% in manual work, compared to 28% in 2000. • But most British people still say they are working class: 57% say working class, 37% middle class • Class awareness has not significantly changed overall since the 1960s – although its social and political implications have (people of the same social class are less likely to share the same world view today than in 1960s) • Class identity is not just about the job you currently do – its about upbringing and roots as well

11. 4. Identities in the UK • Religion • Less important in UK than elsewhere: just 33% of Britons say religion is important to them, compared to 59% of Americans, 77% of Brazilians and 92% of Indians. • Number identifying as belonging to the Christian religion fallen from 66% in 1983 to 54% in 2004. • Sunday church attendance fell by 31% for C of E and 49% for Catholic Church 1989-2005. • Religious diversity has increased and religion much more important to members of BME communities (and for some groups increasingly so).

12. 5. Implications • Identification is a basic human need like any other that entrepreneurs might help meet (although typically we have tended to look to public and civic institutions to embody and promote shared identities) • They should at least be aware of these important drivers of social change, which affect the context in which they operate

13. 5. Implications • Identity trends with market implications: • People communicate and assert their identities through how they look and the things they wear – we are consumers of identity • The need to distinguish ourselves from others means that there is a market for services that enable self-expression • Despite the dominant ethic of individualism there is also a clear desire for shared experiences in areas such as sport and music (eg World Cup hysteria, the London Olympics, music festivals) • There is a need to understand ourselves as part of a longer chronology (eg extraordinary and growing popularity of family history) • Globalisation, migration and new media technologies have created a growing market for more specialised media content – television channels catering for global diasporas for instance

14. 5. Implications • Identity trends with market implications: • We know more about people’s identities than we did: enables greater differentiation and specialisation when marketing products • The public sector is increasingly concerned to promote a shared public realm and strong civic identities. They may do this through developing new public events, improving the built and natural environment etc which private actors can help deliver.

15. 5. Implications • What do you think? Questions/discussion Dr Rick Muir Institute for Public Policy Research r.muir@ippr.org