The ethnic balance of the Senior leadership in the UK’s educational sector is failing to represent the wide ethnocultural base of both society and students.

With senior leadership in higher education’s Russell Group less ethnically diverse than the boards of the FTSE 100 companies, at 97.6% white, UK academia is failing to address structural inequalities in the management regime that act as a barrier to BAME progress.

Universities should be facilitators of social advancement, not creating extra prejudice and barriers for those of a BAME background to overcome. To attract students of diversity and ambition, the educational system must be open and accountable and this commitment should start at the top. Diversity strategies need to be at the heart of HR policies and universities need to invest in developing their leadership pipeline to ensure they remain sustainable and at the height of innovation.

This article was published in the Times Higher Education on 7th October 2017. To read the full Times Higher Education article, click here.

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