Racism can be very subtle. It can hide behind structures and policies that hinder progression or it can be covered by prejudice and unconscious bias that impacts trust in managers and institutions, and one's own confidence.
It can scar an individual for life. However, challenging racial discrimination for ourselves and for others is a first step towards achieving systemic change and empowering BAME staff.
We know that people from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds are disadvantaged by the existing structures in our society, which especially applies to black people.
For example,
- black people's life satisfaction is lower,
- harassing experiences due to ethnic background have a negative impact on
student well-being and self-esteem,
Wolfram, H.; Linton, K.; McDuff, N. (2018) Ethnic harassment, ethnic identity centrality, and well-being. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, Volume 5, Issue 5, pp 1118–1130. - black women experience higher rates of common mental health disorders,
- black people are more likely to be unemployed,
- black people are over three times as likely to be arrested as white people,
- black Caribbean pupils are least likely to get at least 3 A grades,
- more white graduates achieve a first class degree, compared to black graduates, and
- BAME, and especially black, applicants are less likely to be awarded research grants in the UK than white applicants.
- We also know that members of the BAME community has a disproportionately high impact from Covid-19.
Universities UK #ClosingTheGap
In May 2019, Universities UK published their Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Student Attainment at UK Universities: Closing The Gap report.
The report explains what the attainment gap looks like in UK universities, followed by a summary of feedback from students and staff to two online calls for evidence. Information gathered through these surveys helped identify five steps to success. Further information is available on the Universities UK website.
At Greenwich we are proud to have a diverse community, where students and staff are supported to achieve their full potential. We are pleased to be part of a national project aiming to address the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) attainment gap.
It's also important to be aware of unconscious bias and micro-aggressions and the negative impact they can have. If you would like to know more, further research is available.
