“Insidious” unconscious bias in universities is a greater challenge to the career prospects of black academics than the need for more immediate income, according to a new study.
Workplace environments meant that fewer than four in 10 (38 per cent) of black early career academics say they would feel comfortable reporting bullying or harassment, the survey by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) finds.
This was having an effect on career paths, with 81 per cent of the nearly 100 academics surveyed agreeing that they faced particular challenges as a black academic – and just 10 per cent disagreeing.
Unconscious bias is identified as a challenge to progression in an academic career, with half of participants (54 per cent) saying it was the most significant factor, followed by lacking a community of people like them (52 per cent). These issues were thought to be more of a hindrance to their careers than the need for immediate income (48 per cent).
Becca Franssen, lead author and partner in education and research at executive search firm GatenbySanderson, told Times Higher Education that the findings were “unsurprising and still worrying”.
Dr Franssen said unconscious bias training – routinely offered to staff by their universities – did not address systems, processes and criteria that are “inherently biased”, and neglects one of the most commonly cited issues in the survey: that black academics feel barred from conversations about progression...
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