The declining salience of race equality in higher education

Abstract

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