The declining salience of race equality in higher education

Research continues to demonstrate that individuals from minority ethnic communities disproportionately experience adverse outcomes. To give two examples, BME academic staff continue to experience significant disadvantage in higher education and BME students continue to be less likely to be awarded good honours degrees. And yet universities are extraordinarily complacent. They see themselves as liberal and believe existing policies ensure fairness and in the process ignore adverse outcomes and do not see combating racial/ethnic inequalities as a priority. This points in my view to the sheer weight of whiteness (if not institutional racism) which will remain intact unless significant pressure is place on universities to change

The erasure of race and racism

With the advent in the UK of a new Labour government in 1997 and the publication of the Macpherson report in 1999, public debate over race and racism was reactivated after a long period when such concerns had remained dormant. In this article, I shall draw upon an ethnographic study of one university in the UK over a ten year period (Pilkington, 2011a). Here I shall focus on the early part of that period, predominantly 1999-2003 when arguably issues relating to race and racism were at their height. I examine how Midshire University responded in turn to the Commission for Racial Equality’s (CRE’s) leadership challenge; the government’s strategies for higher education relating to widening participation and equal opportunities; and the race relations legislation. The story is not a happy one, with the institution constantly subsuming race under a more general agenda and in the process failing to address the specificities of race. Midshire University is unlikely to be the only university to do this. For universities in the UK are typically characterised by the ‘sheer weight of whiteness’ which blinds senior managers and academics to racial inequalities in their midst

The politics of equality and diversity in Higher Education

The aim of this paper is to provide an exploration of the perspectives relating to equality, diversity and anti-discrimination legislation from multi-actors at different levels of seniority and with varying involvement with equality issues and diversity management within a Higher Education institution. The role of management has been regarded as key in providing the leadership required and sending out the message that equality and diversity issues are significant in order to ensure that legislation is adhered to, not just by the letter, but also the spirit. “This top-down commitment and support was regarded by line managers as extremely important for leading the cultural change which was felt necessary in order to achieve equality for all...” (Greene, A. et al (2005) p36) The same may be said of the role of management within Higher Education Institutions where “[t]he extent and importance of managers in higher education has increased considerably in recent years as UK higher education has expanded…and the commitment of senior managers to equality of opportunity is clearly of considerable significance…” (Deem, R et al (2005) p82) Management perspectives of the meaning of equality therefore have an impact on establishing the priorities for an institution thereby determining how equality and diversity issues are dealt with. In addition, a comparison between management perspectives of the meaning and scope of equality and other members of staff as well as students is significant as these perceptions may differ depending on the role and status of the individual. Previous research has found that “[t]here appeared to be a considerable gulf between the views of staff…and the perceptions of their senior managers.” (Deem, R et al (2005) p6) Differing perspectives of equality may affect the relationships between various actors within the institution and how the politics of equality and diversity are managed. Of particular interest are the views and perceptions of equality and diversity practitioners within Higher Education. Their position and role within the case study institution is unique as they are neither regarded as part of the academic departmental structure of the institution, nor part of the management structure and are therefore poised somewhere in between. Once again, their positioning within the institution, their role and status will be explored and the impact on the politics of diversity management considered. This research aims to further understanding of how perceptions of equality and diversity, and the role of equality and diversity practitioners, affect the management of equality and diversity within Higher Education and implications for the practice of equality will be considere

The interacting dynamics of institutional racism in higher education

This article has its origins in the Macpherson report’s contention that public organisations in British society are characterised by institutional racism. Drawing upon the Parekh report’s identification of ten components of institutional racism, the article examines which, if any, of these components are manifest in a university in Central England that was the subject of ethnographic investigation in the decade following the publication of the Macpherson report. It is argued that the Parekh report’s identification of various components of institutional racism is helpful in disclosing the extent of disadvantage faced by Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) staff and students and the institution’s reluctance to do anything about it. It is also illuminating in sensitising us to the overwhelming Whiteness of the university and the position of White privilege within i

David Cameron and multiculturalism: reproducing the new orthodoxy

Social phenomena are influenced by a multiplicity of factors. We can now visualise relationships in complex data surprisingly easily

From institutional racism to community cohesion and beyond

The presentation argues that the radical hour when race equality was a priority for policy formulation has passed and that increasingly from 2001 there has been a shift away from a discourse concerned with combatting institutional racism to one more focused on the threat of immigration, the importance of integration and the dangers of terrorism. The implications of this analysis for achieving inclusion through partnerships are explored

Business as usual: BME academics in higher education

The presentation was one of three keynotes designed to review the research on BME Academics in higher education and help inform policy proposals by the Runnymede Trust to a Parliamentary enquiry. This presentation surveyed policies in the last decade and argued that external pressures on universities to address race equality had radically diminished such that race equality was virtually off the agenda