A diverse faculty brings established benefits to higher education institutions – from increased student completion rates to graduates with better critical-thinking skills and empathy, according to Education Trust research. Yet, progress towards an academy that reflects the racial diversity of its student body and society as a whole is slow and university staff become less diverse as roles become more senior. Only about 11 per cent of full-time college instructors in the US are Black or Latino, as reported in Times Higher Education in August. In the UK, 1 per cent of full professors in the UK were Black, with fewer than 50 Black women professors in 2023, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Recent blows to affirmative action and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) efforts in the US have not helped the cause, yet many within higher education remain dedicated to increasing diversity within universities. This collection of resources brings together advice on inclusive hiring practices, creating a welcoming campus, addressing career barriers and fixing the pipeline from student to tenured professor.
Backing Black scholars: here’s how universities can do better: Yaz Osho of the University of Westminster offers nine ways that institutions can start chipping away at the structural disadvantages and institutional practices that negatively impact Black scholars.
Advice for establishing inclusive hiring practices
The university sector lags behind industries such as law, science and engineering when it comes to hiring people of colour, according to a report from the US Government Accountability Office. Equitable practices towards more inclusive recruitment can include identifying and removing biased language from job adverts, using diverse interview panels and enlisting specialist support. But recruitment is just the start. Institutions also need to retain and support all their staff, and this might mean identifying and educating about micro-aggressions, addressing unconscious bias and providing leadership opportunities and mentorship.
Tackling bias and microaggressions in higher education: Actionable strategies and insights to help higher education institutions attract and retain ethnic-minority staff, by Pallavi Banerjee of the University of Exeter.
How to embed inclusive recruitment practices in a higher education setting: Hiring practices – from job posting to interview – are key to creating a diverse workforce. Here, Damien Page of Buckinghamshire New University offers advice on how to drive university-wide inclusivity from the classroom to the community.
Campus webinar: Recruit, develop and retain the best staff in higher education: Join experts from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, University of Luxembourg and the University of Manchester as they discuss best practices for universities for identifying, hiring and developing the best people.
Breaking the oldest rules in the book: making promotion and tenure more equitable: Arizona State University’s Pardis Mahdavi and Scott Brooks explain how a rethink of the processes that govern promotion and tenure to put diversity work at its heart could result in a more equitable higher education system.
We must dismantle the invisible career barriers in HE: Despite surface appearances, universities’ recruitment and selection practices still present hidden obstacles to under-represented groups, argues Rebecca Jarrett of Cranfield University.
Weaving gold from EDI straw: an intersectional approach: In this resource, the University of Manchester’s three academic leads for EDI explain how they work together and learn from each other.
Create a welcoming campus with research and teaching opportunities for all
Institutions should make the most of initiatives, such as the Race Equality Charter in the UK, that aim to provide a framework for action and bring down barriers that inhibit the progress of Black, Asian and minority ethnic staff. University administrators can consult equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) specialists to find out how to improve the work environment for all but should not expect under-represented groups to do all the heavy lifting. They can start by embedding cultural competency across their institutions. Improved representation among faculty, researchers and support teams can help to lessen feelings of isolation and marginalisation on campus among students and staff.
The importance of Black spaces in white academia: An epistemological approach is needed to build more inclusive environments, argues Blanca Elizabeth Vega of Montclair State University in this excerpt from Black Scholarship in a White Academy.
For diverse communities to thrive, we need intersectional policies and practices: Inna Stepaniuk of Simon Fraser University offers suggestions on how to design an inclusive and equitable campus.
In a precarious academy, how can migrant academics survive – and thrive?In this extract from their book, ‘Migrant Academics’ Narratives of Precarity and Resilience in Europe’, Olga Burlyuk and Ladan Rahbari of the University of Amsterdam explore the ways precarity presents itself in academia.
Equity without whiteness - what leaders get wrong in pursuit of an equitable campus: How can equity be advanced within a system that protects the status quo, and how can university leaders make a difference? Jordan Harper, Rozana Carducci and Adrianna Kezar examine how.
Building kindness into an institutional culture: Xueli Wang of the University of Wisconsin–Madison shares advice on how to ground humanity in institutional practices, structures and policies to holistically support faculty and staff.
Decolonising interview methods - a call to look to the moon: The interview process often rests on colonial perceptions of what counts as knowledge, how knowledge is generated and who ‘owns’ it. But researchers can use orienting questions to reflect upon and decentre this approach, write Rosalind Edwards of the University of Southampton, Teah Carlson of Massey University and Rachel Liebert of the University of East London.
Fix the pipeline to an academic career for Black and minority scholars
When faculty or staff are part of more than one protected or minority group, it can result in unique and complex intersectional challenges. If institutions build understanding of how such overlapping identities affect academic career opportunities such as research outputs and pathways into university administration, they can work to mitigate limiting factors through action on workplace policies, training, mentoring and making space for (and listening to) diverse voices.
Intersectionality is the only way to nurture academics of colour: Finding the blind spots in EDI efforts will more effectively support academics sitting at the intersection of minority identities. Here are three places to start, suggested by Wajeeha Aziz, Raheela Awais, Melody Obeng, Ellie Harrison from the Universities of Sussex, Liverpool and Sheffield.
How to tell if your university is making a genuine effort to increase diversity: There is zero doubt that bias pervades the HE system. Universities need to show they are taking it as seriously as they take publication and other key performance areas, writes Keon West of Goldsmiths, University of London.
Effective levers to foster women – specifically women of colour – into leadership roles: Gender and race disparities persist in leadership roles within academic institutions. Here, Virginia Tech’s Menah Pratt shares her advice on effective levers to foster women of colour into leadership roles.
What are the barriers to success for under-represented early career researchers in maths, physics, computer science and engineering? Recommendations for improving equity, diversity and inclusion in maths, physics, computer science and engineering, based on research into the barriers faced by ECRs from under-represented groups in these disciplines, by a team from the University of Exeter.
What we can learn from Black women academics in the UK: As a Black female lecturer, Shelley McLetchie-Holder of King’s College London outlines lessons she has drawn from other Black women academics working in the UK and explains how institutions can best support these staff.
Improving the digital experience for Black international students: Strategies UK institutions should take to enable Black international students’ smooth transition into university, shared by Patrice Seuwou of the University of Northampton.
Changing the way universities talk about race and diversity
The language used to discuss equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) has a powerful influence over perceptions, behaviours and understanding – of lack thereof - between communities. But navigating this language can be difficult with varied conceptions about what is acceptable, appropriate or helpful. Here, Campus authors discuss how this can best be managed and what effective allyship looks like.
The language of inclusivity is not inclusive: Terms such as equity, diversity and inclusion give the impression that they are dealing with what is present. In fact, EDI work deals with what is absent, writes the University of Southampton’s Pascal Matthias. He offers ways to think, speak and write differently.
A practical guide to navigating the language of diversity: Navigating the language of diversity is a continuous journey that requires commitment and effort, Yusra Siddiqui of the University of Exeter writes.
How to be an anti-racist ally on the university campus: Three academics from the University of Westminster provide practical advice on ensuring allyship is taken seriously in higher education institutions.
Campus Talks: How to navigate HE as a woman of colour: To mark International Women’s Day, we spoke with female academics Henrika McCoy of the University of Texas at Austin and Didar Zowghi of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
Thank you to all Campus contributors who shared their expertise in this guide.
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