Higher Education and the BME Academia Attainment Gap

By Alexandra Sturdy

“If you stick a knife in my back nine inches and pull it out six inches, there's no progress. If you pull it all the way out that's not progress. Progress is healing the wound that the blow made. And they have not even pulled the knife out, much less healed the wound. They won't even admit the knife is there.” Malcolm X, 1964.

In March 2014, students at University College London posed the question: “Why isn’t my Professor Black?” This was a groundbreaking event that sparked a university-wide discussion surrounding the absence of Black academics in Higher Education (HE). This article seeks to explore the progress made by HE institutions, and why this question is still pivotal today, seven years on. 

WHAT KNIFE?

The short answer to this article is, unsurprisingly, institutional racism. Malcolm X’s explanation of progress is extremely relevant to the attainment of a gap in HE in the UK, whereby the embedded discrimination within the UK’s educational institutions has prevented the healing process of racial discrimination in the UK.  

Let's Talk About Colourblind Racism and Educational Institutions

Colourblind racism is the belief that racial discrimination, inequality and injustice are no longer seen as an overt social issue, as nationwide social change now benefits all members of society regardless of race. Colourblind racism therefore prevents people from seeing systemic causes and patterns of racial inequality in our society. HE institutions practice colourblind racism. 

During the UCL discussion, speaker Dr William Ackah from Birkbeck University of London found it interesting that systemic racism exists in an institution which prides itself on having “such high standards”. Universities delight in the rising numbers of Black students, academics and professors in addition to their ‘unbiased’ hiring process that promises to promote equality, diversity and inclusion by ensuring data on applicants’ social backgrounds (including race, gender, disability, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics). However, these institutions ignore reality: they continue to hire more white academics into senior roles and hire a miniscule number of Black professors that occupy junior roles within universities without hope of being promoted by their colleges or university chairs. As this article will show, Black professors are suffering each year at the hands of UK universities, with a widening the attainment gap and progress from 2014 stunted and slow. Consequently, though more Black students and in turn Black professors are admitted into UK universities every year,  more are let down as the cuts get deeper, longer-lasting, and almost impossible to heal.

THE KNIFE CUTS DEEP

There is statistical evidence relating to Black professors in the United Kingdom highlighting (a) the racial and gender gaps and (b) the pay gap. “Why isn’t my Professor Black?” (2014) was the first time UK HE institutions were asked, in the public eye, to examine the attainment gap of BME professors. On the UCL discussion panel, Dr Lisa Palmer from Newman University remarked that “campuses often resemble colonies” and that this “coloniality reveals structural and institutional racism.” Based upon 2013/2014 statistics in Aiming Higher: Race, Inequality and Diversity in the Academy, published in 2015 by the UK’s independent race equality think tank, The Runnymede Trust, 92% of professors in the UK were white, and 0.84% (85) of professors in the UK were Black. Moreover, of the 85 Black professors, only 20% (17) were Black women. Evidently, in 2014, HE institutions were populated by white professors and academics, whilst the presence of Black professors was negligible and almost inaudible.  

So, Why is This Still Important? 

Yearly statistical analysis continues to reaffirm the consensus of the absence of Black academic professionals and the domination of their white counterparts in HE. The HE Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes data surrounding HE and establishes perhaps the most important data of all: Who’s working in HE? According to 2019/20 data, white academic professionals numbered 167,205, with 18,770 classed as ‘professors’. In comparison, only 4,725 Black academic professionals were working in universities across the UK. Of these, 155 are ‘professors’, 50 ‘other senior academics’ and 4,520 ‘other contract levels’. These numbers deplete further once geographic locations are introduced, with no Black staff members occupying the status of professor or senior roles in Northern Ireland. This number continue to decrease once sex and disability are addressed. According to a report via the HE organisation Advance HE in 2019, there were a mere 35 Black women professors in the UK compared to 4,560 white women. Black women make up less than one percent of female professors in the UK.  In order to raise awareness of Black women professors in 2020, Dr Nicola Rollock, reader in Equity & Education at Goldsmiths University of London, curated an exhibition named Phenomenal Women: Portraits of UK Black Female Professors, showcasing Black female professors across a multitude of subject areas. The exhibition is the first of its kind and endeavors to honour "invisible" academics and “to challenge perceptions of what a professor looks like, to highlight the intersectionality of race and gender and to showcase the achievements of this under-represented group of academics''. 

The Maths

These numbers do not promote hope for quick change. Between 2014 to 2019 there was a 105% increase in Black female professors, a slow increase for 5 years. Consequently, for the number of Black female professors to reach the same number of white female professors, assuming that the 105% increase is steady over a 5-year period, it would take a heartbreaking 38 years. Thirty. Eight. Years. To re-write to wrongs of systemic racism within HE education could take a lifetime if change is not imminent. 

Moreover, ongoing investigations into the absence of Black professors in classrooms continue to be carried out by HE organizations dedicated to the well-being of its staff and students. The University and College Union (UCU) represents over 130,000 academics and support staff across thousands of UK universities, and has conducted investigations into the promotion and pay gaps of Black professors in the UK. The union’s analysis of the 2017/18 HE staff record shows that BME staff suffer greatly from a pay gap: 9% below their white counterparts. Moreover, the numerical data indicates that BME staff are typically found in the most junior positions, often on short-term contracts, and are least likely to receive project funding, placing them in the most vulnerable positions when institutions must cut back. This confirms that British universities continued to make slow progress in promoting Black and other minority ethnic staff to senior positions and ensure pay equality. 

THE WOUND

The effects of the metaphorical knife can be seen within HE institutions. Campuses that represent ‘colonies’ create a negative environment for both professors and students. This negative environment has a severe impact on the mental health of students.

 Students and staff report high levels of anti-Black racism within HE, with the result that mental health issues arise from feeling unwelcomed into historically white spaces. A study co-published by the University Partnerships Programme Foundation (UPP) and the Social Market Foundation (SMF), provides further evidence identifying a number of factors that can contribute to the greater likelihood of Black students in particular dropping out of HE early. Reasons include: “Feeling as if there is an implicit bias or preference towards white students; a lack of cultural connection to the curriculum; difficulties making relationships with academic staff or students from different backgrounds”. 

 Authors Chelsea Kwakye and Ore Ogunbiyi published “Taking Up Space: The Black Girl’s Manifesto for Change” in 2019, highlighting their experiences of studying at the University of Cambridge and what it was like to be the minority in an historically white institution. Chapters such as #AcademiaSo-White discusses the lack of representation of Black women within the teaching staff, with the impact being that students often suffer from ‘imposter syndrome’. Imposter syndrome takes the form of being bombarded by lack of diverse staff members, interactions and historical artworks and images telling them that they ‘do not belong’ in the institution. The importance of representation can provide confidence to students, providing social benefits, culture, language, hair and understanding of differences. Moreover, the presence of Black professors provide evidence that that the path for others facing similar oppressions is possible, attainable and not the impossibility it once seemed. Instead, all too often university lecture theatres deflect Black students from putting themselves into space where they do not see other Black people welcomed and are subsequently discouraged in certain subjects and universities. 

Furthermore, content in the curriculum suffers. Olivette Otele became the UK’s first female Black history professor after being awarded a professorship and a chair in history by Bath Spa University in 2018. She has since been appointed by the University of Bristol as lead Black history professor to explore the city’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. She commented that her new role would “facilitate dialogue that needs to take place”. The burgeoning presence of individual Black professors provides a necessary and overdue perspective to European history and sparks conversations that white professors do not necessarily ask or teach. 

HEALING 

How to heal from these wounds? The harrowing statement by Malcolm X hints at the ongoing discrimination faced by Black people, and the lack of attempts or knowledge on how to begin the healing process. In order to start reversing the damages made in the attainment gap, HE must endeavor to make meaningful long-lasting change. Below are four suggestions for HE institutions to start healing the damage of the attainment gap – suggestions which must be taken simultaneously not individually: 

1. Take responsibility! 

HE must face these statistics and take responsibility for unkept promises, mistakes and lack of support toward racial justice. As a show of commitment to anti-racism, equity and equality, they must admit that institutional racism has intercepted UK HE institutions for far too long and cannot be ignored. Making institutions' ethnicity statistics public, along with listening to Black staff members should provide positive pressure on HE institutions to act and self-check the diversity of their staff members and the direction of progress.

1. Promote, fund and amplify

HE leaders and senior managers need to demonstrate a strong commitment to removing the BME attainment gap and lead by example. To show dedication, HE leaders must start to actively promote and employ more academics in positions of seniority and decision-making roles in universities. There are fantastic and qualified Black academics in the UK. Their academic project ideas, books and equipment must be promoted and funded to inspire students around the UK. Additionally, HE then needs to amplify the presence of these Black voices in academia. This includes the publishing of academic articles, papers, books and live streamed event talks.

1. Domestic Academic Mobility

Whilst the term academic mobility usually refers to the international institutional exchange, this article proposes ‘domestic’ collaboration of junior staff members (researchers, research associates, PhD students) and senior staff members (professors, associate professors, lecturers) between and within universities across the UK. This utilizes interdepartmental resources which encourages collaboration between departments to help elevate the Black people within junior roles into higher positions through academic recognition and experience. This includes not just putting Black history into the syllabus but encouraging specific focus on Black studies within a range of subject areas. Additionally, this would create opportunities for healthy dialogue between academic staff members from a variety of backgrounds. 

1. Departmental Safe Spaces

This article's final recommendation is the introduction of more departmental safe spaces across HE. Safe spaces are an emerging concept that has already been widely used amongst HE institutions and in university campuses to make victims of discrimination, prejudice, abuse or otherwise feel uncomfortable in their chosen subject choice. These spaces allow students to meet with other sympathetic students and staff members, creating opportunities within the departments to form social links and conversations in their own time and space. Creating spaces and resources for dialogue among all members of HE spaces allows for conversations on how to imagine and envision all cultures and knowledge systems in the curriculum.

In conclusion, this article reiterates the question “Why isn’t my Professor Black”?  for hopefully the last time. The likelihood is that this question may be posed again. HE institutions must therefore endeavor to create more rapid change. In the seven years since the UCL meeting, and with the clear and unwavering institutional racism which plagues the UK, Malcolm X’s measurement of progress has shown that until we see more Black professors leading lectures, heading departments and Black mental health improvement, only then will the wounds left by HE begins to heal.