Lifting barriers to black academia

The 1999 Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report peeled back the lid on institutional racism in the UK, instigating a step change across all British institutions in efforts to achieve racial justice and equity.

Twenty-five years on, progress in higher education institutions (HEIs) is slow. Only 49 UK HEIs out of 295 hold a Race Equality Charter Award – none at gold level. Under-representation of Black academics, students and staff, and inequality in their experiences at HEIs are a key challenge. The ‘Inclusive Britain’ action plan for the UK government’s Race Disparity Unit (March 2022) aims to improve not just the rates of access, but the experience and success of ‘ethnic minority’ students and to enhance the quality of graduate employment. It stated that HEIs will revise access and participation plans. The action plan also resulted in updated guidance for employers on the use of positive action under the Equality Act 2010.

‘Barriers to Black Academia’ is an initiative created by UK Black academics Dr Leona Vaughn and Malik Al Nasir to explore how to address the underrepresentationof academics of African descent as a form of reparative justice in all subject areas and at all levels of higher education including access to research funding. It is supported by the University of Liverpool and University of Bristol.

Learn more about the initiative's findings:
Barriers To Black Academia​: Analytical Roundtable Report
Lifting The Barriers To Black Academia: Policy Roundtable Report
Creating Sustainable Actions for Reparative Justice in Higher Education Institutions: Policy Briefing