The myth of a post-racial society: white privilege is still being perpetuated in English schools

English schools still have a problem with racism, writes Kalwant Bhopal, and explains that, in spite of legislation aimed to address inequalities, schools have no legal obligation to record racist incidents. As a result, rhetoric of inclusive policy-making only serves to reinforce white privilege within the school space

How to start dismantling white privilege in higher education

Racism is still alive and well in US and UK academia, writes Kalwant Bhopal. She argues that to dismantle it, there is a need for radical action from universities, which must start by acknowledging the existence of institutional racism and white privilege

Prioritising race equality: Senior leaders must do more to encourage BME talent to stay in UK higher education.

According to a recent study, black and minority ethnic academics were significantly more likely to consider a move to an overseas university compared to their white counterparts. Survey respondents acknowledged that countries such as the US valued the study of race and ethnicity and that the importance of race equality and the value of having a diverse group of academic staff was given a higher priority than in the UK. Kalwant Bhopal shares the findings and reflects on the ways that the UK sector can tackle the problem

White academia: will the Race Equality Charter make a difference?

There are some hard numbers behind diversity in academia. There are currently only 70 black professors in the UK; of these, only 17 of are female. As part of ongoing efforts to address these disappointing numbers, the Race Equality Charter mark was recently introduced by the Equality Challenge Unit. But will it make academia more diverse? Kalwant Bhopal explains how the process works and writes that, while it is too early to say whether it will have an impact, the Charter is undoubtedly a step in the right direction

The (un)equal university:Training programmes and the commodification of race

There is a plethora of evidence to suggest that academics of colour remain under represented in higher education; they are less likely to be professors and occupy senior managerial roles compared to White groups and report regular incidents of overt and covert racism. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives such as training programmes to progress the position of academics of colour into senior roles have been used to address their under representation. Drawing on Critical Race Theory this paper examines how within the neoliberal marketised university, such training programmes are used for the benefit of White groups to perpetuate White privilege

Improving the lack of racial diversity amongst academic staff:will the Race Equality Charter make a difference?

The numbers on diversity in academia are discouraging. There are currently only 70 black professors in the UK; of these, only 17 of are female. As part of ongoing efforts to address these disappointing numbers, the Race Equality Charter mark was recently introduced by the Equality Challenge Unit. But will it make academia more diverse? Kalwant Bhopal explains how the process works and writes that, while it is too early to say whether it will have an impact, the Charter is undoubtedly a step in the right direction