DSA to support ECRs of colour
The DSA has been awarded funding by the Academy of Social Sciences to address retention and progression of academics of colour.
The funding will be used to:
- run workshops with early career researchers of colour from three different UK regions to better understand their needs;
- provide training to Heads of Department and senior colleagues and other senior colleagues to address structural barriers to progression;
- conduct a documentary review, key informant interviews and group discussions with an advisory board to identify and document good practice.
- use qualitative methods to understand EDI best practice of DSA members and disseminating this within our sector
The DSA will build and draw on related projects, including the existing Generation Delta project which supports PhD students of colour and will use Active Bystander training developed by the Royal Economic Society to focus on how it can be used in processes relating to progression, for example, hiring and promotion.
Motivation for the training comes from our work in 2023 on the racial profiling of staff within the sector via a small pilot study. The DSA tested the feasibility of different information sources and approaches and the efficacy of both individual and institutional surveys. We then rolled out a survey using HESA categories in early 2024 to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the sector. Although response rates were lower than expected, it was clear that white academics predominate in the sector (59%) and this is particularly true at higher levels (69% of Professors were white), reflecting the finding of the AcSS report on EDI in the Social Sciences.
There is qualitative evidence that the competitive and unsupportive environment within UK Higher Education, alongside the high incidence of micro-aggressions, often causes academics of colour to leave the sector. This means that work on access at the PhD stage needs to continue into support around the first academic appointment and securing of a permanent contract.
The proposed work will generate an ECR-led understanding of needs across the sector and their perception of the best way to address these. This will be linked to case studies of good practices, drawn from the qualitative analysis, which will be disseminated within the sector. Participating in the workshops and the advisory board will help create a network or community for academics of colour within DSA, which has been highlighted as a need by Generation Delta participants. The programme has considerable support from the institutional members of the DSA, due to its potential to provide examples of good practice to encourage better support for early academics of colour in navigating the higher education system.
The DSA is committed to the promotion of EDI among its member institutions. The different components will allow us to showcase successful policies and practices and provide examples that can be followed by other institutions and promoted by the DSA. It will also shape our own practice: through facilitating peer support, mentoring, targeted careers guidance/training.