Race equality in academia: time to establish black studies in the UK?

By Deborah Gabriel. With just 85 black professors in the UK, Deborah Gabrielsays we need a more diverse curriculum for real change. If the same vigour and commitment that drive gender equality in higher education were directed towards race equality then better progress could be made in addressing the institutionalised racism that pervades the higher education sector.
While women now account for 44% of all academics within UK universities (2011/12 HESA Staff Record) , the percentage of black academics (combining black Caribbean, black African and black other) stands at 1.6%.
In a survey among the Black British Academics network, 81% of respondents said they were in favour of positive action targeted towards the groups most adversely impacted by race. The issue is not just that black academics are under-represented, says member Cecily Jones, an independent researcher, but also relates to "the conditions under which we work; the opaque pay negotiations and promotions structures".
There are just 85 black professors out of a total of 18,510 in the UK. More...