A new report has found “a definite underlying subtext of racism” in British universities, according to its author, Dr Kalwant Bhopal, reader in education at the University of Southampton.
The paper, due to be published June, found that an overwhelming number of academics considered race to be the biggest barrier to career progression.
She said, “Speaking 20 years since the murder of Stephen Lawrence I am surprised at how little progress has been made. There are signs of improvement, but we are progressing in small steps.”
She continued: “The statistics show that most ethnic minority academics are concentrated in post-1992 universities. But the problem of racism is widespread; it is not only confined to Russell Group or elite universities”.
Of the 65 individuals surveyed, only two had reported that they considered gender a greater barrier than race to career progression, both of whom were from a mixed race background. It is thought that only one university in Britain – Liverpool Hope – has a Chancellor from an ethnic minority group.
However, Bhopal said that her research had found that ethnic minority academics not only felt excluded from career progression, but discriminated against through more subtle means. She said that many of those surveyed reported that the body language or lack of eye contact of their colleagues had left them feeling excluded.
“One of the individuals I interviewed recounted that some people were surprised to find that she was black after speaking over the phone”, she said. “Such forms of racism are very hard to prove”.
A spokesperson for Oxford university told Cherwell, “We do recognize that black and other minority groups are under-represented at most academic levels. However, this is also true across most leading universities, higher education in general and in many other sectors
“The overall proportion of Oxford University academic staff declaring themselves as black and minority ethnic is 6.3%, which compares with national figures for academic staff of 6.7%. 7% of the UK labour force identify themselves as BME”.
In 2005, an internal Oxford report found serious failings in attracting minority candidates to administrative positions at Oxford, and recommended immediate action.
However, Dapo Akande, a lecturer at St Peter’s College of African ethnicity, told Cherwell “I have worked in several universities in the UK and the US and have found each of them to be pleasant environments to work in. I would not say that race or racial discrimination has been a barrier to career progression in my case.”
In recent months the university has undertaken a comprehensive audit of ethnic minority staff. The university also said that it reviews its Race Equality Policy on an annual basis, and has sufficient measures in place to ensure the wellbeing of its staff.
Ibaad Aleem, a British-Pakistani student studying at Hertford College commented: “I wouldn’t think anyone would find race a deterrent from academia in the modern world”. He added: “Personally I don’t really think about the race of the people around me”.
