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Understanding Minority Ethnic Flight from UK Higher Education

Understanding Minority Ethnic Flight from UK Higher Education. Professor Kalwant Bhopal @KalwantBhopal K.Bhopal@soton.ac.uk. Introduction. Race Relations Amendment Act (2000); Equality Act (2010); Athena SWAN; Race Equality Charter (ECU).

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Understanding Minority Ethnic Flight from UK Higher Education

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  1. Understanding Minority Ethnic Flight from UK Higher Education Professor Kalwant Bhopal @KalwantBhopal K.Bhopal@soton.ac.uk

  2. Introduction • Race Relations Amendment Act (2000); Equality Act (2010); Athena SWAN; Race Equality Charter (ECU). • Increase in BME students at HEIs; Indian and Chinese students more likely to have a degree compared to White British (HEFCE, 2014-15). • Inequalities continue to persist despite policy changes and changes in student body (Bhopal and Jackson, 2013; Pilkington, 2013); White applicants three times more likely to secure a professorial post compared to BME candidates (UCU, 2012).

  3. BME Students: demographics • The proportion of students who were BME has increased from 14.9% in 2003/4 to 20.2% a decade later. • 22.4% of white students received a first compared with 13.7% of BME. • Relatively high proportions of Chinese (18.6%) and mixed (18.1%) students received a first. These were more than double the proportions of students from other black backgrounds (8.3%) and black African (8.5%) who received a first. (ECU Statistical Report, Students 2015).

  4. BME Students • Black students tend to achieve poorer ‘A’ level grades compared to white students on average (BIS, 2013) • Less likely to be able to apply to selective universities such as Oxford or RG (Boliver, 2013) • When they do apply, less likely to be offered places compared to White students with comparable ‘A’ level results (Noden et al, 2014) • BME students under-represented in prestigious, elite RG universities (Boliver, 2015)

  5. BME make up 14% minority ethnic population (England and Wales, Census 2011). The proportion of staff who were UK BME has increased from 4.8% in 2003/04 to 6.7% in 2013/14 (representing a 39.6% increase from 2003/04 levels). In this same period, the proportion of staff who were non-UK BME increased from 3.8% to 5.0%. Among UK academic staff, only 3.9% of BME staff were in senior managerial positions. Around one in five Chinese (22.7%), other (21.5%), Asian (20.7%) and white (19.7%) UK academics were in the top academic pay spine range of £57,032 and above. In contrast, only 8.9% of black and 15.2% of mixed UK academic staff were in this pay spine range. (ECU Statistical Report Staff, 2015) BME Staff: demographics

  6. UK academic staff by professorial category and ethnic group (ECU Statistical report, 2015)

  7. Greater focus to date on gender rather than ethnicity (Bhopal, 2015) Focus overall on students (widening participation, internationalisation), less focus on staff (Bhopal, 2015) Glass ceiling/ivory ceiling (Morley, 2013; Bhopal, 2014) ‘Being ruled out for promotion; not being encouraged to apply’ (ECU, 2015) Hyper-surveillance, ‘being othered’, intersectionalities (Bhopal and Jackson, 2013) REF ‘neutralising ethnicity’/subjective bias (Bhopal and Jackson, 2013) Representation and experiences

  8. Minority ethnic flight from UK • Funded by Equality Challenge Unit ECU (published 2015) • To understand reasons for overseas HE migration and explore ethnic differences; • To understand the push and pull factors which contribute to actual or potential overseas HE migration and whether these factors vary by ethnicity. • To establish how UK HEIs can retain BME academics and attract back those who have left.

  9. Methodology Questionnaire survey distributed to all HEIs in UK (via ECU and our own contacts) until early April 2014. Analysis: SPSS; descriptive statistics and non-parametric inferential analysis. 41 in-depth interviews (14 UK; 12 with previous overseas experience; 15 based overseas). Analysis: NVIVO; ‘theoretical’ thematic analysis (Roulston, 2001).

  10. Survey Responses: demographics 1,201 responses of these: 146 (12.5%) BME and 1,024 (87.5%)White 504 (43%) female and 662 (57%) male 761 (65%) aged 40 and over, 417 (35%) under 40 12.4% self-identified as disabled 8.4% self-identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or other 732 (74%) in ‘old’ universities, 211 (21%) post-1992 One third of participants had overseas work experience

  11. Survey Responses: Summary • BME academics consider a move overseas in great proportions than white academics; but also more go on to reject the idea. • The USA is the most considered destination for black, Asian, white and mixed ethnicities • Arab, Jewish, Hispanic/Latin and ‘other’ were most likely to consider a move to another European destination • The biggest decider was the offer of a full-time permanent post, whether in the UK or overseas

  12. Positive elements of UK HE • Having a full-time permanent post • Good pension • Treated with equity • Co-operative working environment • Family friendly policies

  13. Push factors away from the UK: Barriers to promotion • Career ‘hits the buffers’ • Prospects limited and promotion ‘an illusion’ • Lack of transparency – ‘nebulous’ criteria/who you know • Feeling of being judged more harshly/different criteria introduced • Work on race, ethnicity, seen as a deficit • You have got to be ‘twice as good’ as White counterparts • REF – recognition of publications outside the ‘Anglo-American’ world?

  14. Pull factors to overseas - Academic • To work temporarily (unable to get work in UK – so aim to gain experience then return) • Supportive environment for BME scholars – and examples of others going overseas (permanent or secondment); positive messages from overseas institutions • Intellectually treated as an equal – credibility and status given to BME staff • Institutional space, and institutional support for Black studies • Supportive environment for research (no RAE or REF) • Less of an administrative burden • Pay, terms and conditions

  15. Pull factors to overseas - Lifestyle • Quality of lifestyle; better opportunities for family • Culture “Whereas in the USA we go out to dinners together, and there is always a sense of wanting to talk to everyone in the corridors, that culture is one that I value and like” • Better weather; travel; learning different languages • Giving something back, to make a difference (e.g. Africa; China; India)

  16. What would attract back or retain BME academics in UK HE sector? • Greater visibility of BME staff in academic and decision making roles; transparency in recruitment and progression • Institutional frameworks that facilitate change • A specific recognition and valuing of diversity for staff and in curricula: development of Black Studies • Networking/mentoring/training (to make a difference) • Monitor and review staff profiles, identify under (and over) representation (level; position; type of contract) • Acknowledge and address institutional racism and other areas of disadvantage

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