The former Celtic, Jamaica and Tranmere Rovers boss has been out of work since leaving Prenton Park after just four months in charge in 2009.
And Barnes feels it is unlikely an opportunity to return will arise.
"A white manager loses his job and gets another job, he loses his job, he gets another job. Very few black managers can lose their job and get another job," he tells ITV4's John Barnes: Sports Life Stories programme, which airs on Tuesday.
"What I can judge it from is by looking at society. How many black people are there in the higher echelons of any industry? We can talk about journalism, we can talk about politics. So why should football be any different?"
Asked whether the Celtic job was too much too soon for a rookie manager when he took it in 1999, Barnes added: ”Well if it comes now at 51, I don’t think it will be any different.
"It's more to do with the perception of my ability to do the job, because there's a certain perception of who can make a good manager."
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