As the Brexit deadline creeps closer and closer, like a looming fog over the country, the UK economy is struggling. But there is a solution – pointed to in Ruby McGregor-Smith’s independent review, Race in the Workplace (February 2017). “The potential benefit to the UK economy from full representation of BME [black, minority and ethnic] individuals across the labour market … is estimated to be £24bn a year, which represents 1.3% of GDP.”
The report indicates that “14% of the working age population [is] from a BME background”, but “many ethnic minorities [are] concentrated in lower-paying jobs”. As such, they may not have access to certain facilities or skills, and so may require extra help in order to obtain access to certain careers.
But how can we do that? Conferences might seem like an arid source for solutions, but they provide unique opportunities for young BME individuals to meet successful people from similar backgrounds. They provide potential networking and mentorship opportunities, and can even open doors to careers that are normally closed.
The BME Early Career Researcher (ECR) – How to Stay in Academia conference, organised by the diversity and inclusion team at King’s College London, was the very first BME-specific conference in London that covered several disciplines. It was conducted in response to data that illustrated an under-representation of BME early-career researchers at lecturer level upwards. With only 0.5% of professors in the UK being black, there is a desperate need to ensure more members of the BME population remain in academia and work their way up to become professors, otherwise how else will young people be inspired?
In his presentation, Why We Need Black Professors, Winston Morgan argued: “If the higher education sector cannot provide equality of opportunity for BME staff, how can it provide equality of outcomes for BME students? Having black professors designing/informing the curriculum will reduce the Eurocentric content of the curriculum and make it more accessible, engaging and inspirational.”
Black professors on campus provide a powerful counter narrative and will inspire future generations to become academics, further increasing the pool of black professors. It’s a virtuous circle.
The feedback obtained a week after last year’s conference confirmed the level of success it had, with more than 80% saying it provided tools that will help prepare them to remain in academia. As a result of that success, on 3 April we will be holding our second conference at King’s College London, this time supported by Wellcome Trust, King’s Centre for Research Staff Development and Royal Society of Chemistry. We will be rolling it out to PhD students alongside postdoctoral researchers who aspire to have an academic career.
Of course, our conference alone is not enough – and others are doing great things. Two Leeds medical students, with the aim of championing the journeys of black future leaders in medicine and Stem (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), launched the organisation The Race Against Medicine last year, which celebrates, champions and exhibited some of the phenomenal contributions made to science by black women.
Meghan Markle might represent a powerful image for BME people – “look we can marry a royal now, too” – but society will need to go much further than a royal wedding to ensure that BME students are inspired to continue their studies, and thus continue to inspire those who will follow them. It’s not just good for them, it could help to save the British economy, too.