Anti-Racism Working Group

This group was convened in January 2021 to promote active anti-racism in DPAG and improve the diversity of staff and students. Group members are volunteers with an interest in promoting race equality. This page will be regularly updated with a specific topic to help raise awareness of key issues around anti-racism and race equality. If you are committed to active anti-racism and would like to join the Anti-Racism Working Group, please email louise.cotterell@dpag.ox.ac.uk.

Anti-Racism Resources May 2022

Diversity Makes Better Science

“We need diversity of thought in the world to face the new challenges.” Tim Berners-Lee (Inventor of the World-Wide Web).

Diversity Benefit #1: Creativity & Innovation

Socially diverse groups (those with a diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic background, and sexual orientation) are more innovative than homogeneous groups.

People with different backgrounds bring unique information, perspectives, and experiences to tasks.
A diversity of views enables objections and alternatives to be explored efficiently, solutions to emerge more readily, and results to be adopted with greater confidence. Academic research has shown that diverse groups often outperform experts.
Diversity encourages the search for novel information and perspectives, leading to better decision-making and problem-solving. The best decisions are not made by a homogenous group.

Diversity Benefit #2: Happier Teams

Diversity increases employee satisfaction, improving collaboration and loyalty. It fosters positive attitudes and behaviours in the workplace. Where diversity recruitment is tokenistic, psychological outcomes are poorer.

When inclusivity is made a priority in the workplace, people feel more comfortable to engage. A 2013 Gallup poll found that only 13% of employees are actively engaged at work. The management behaviour most likely to affect engagement was “demonstrates strong commitment to diversity”.

Diversity Benefit #3: Reflecting Social Change

The pandemic has driven a desire to work for organisations that reflect personal values, rather than just paying a salary. Deloitte found that 80 percent of employees say that inclusion is an important factor in choosing an employer. A diverse workforce can enrich the workplace, whilst also more accurately representing the demographics of the broader population. ONS data for 2019 suggests that 3.5% of the population in England and Wales identify as from a black ethnic background; as at July 2020, no members of DPAG staff identify with this ethnicity.

Diversity Benefit #4: Recruiting the Top Talent

Diversity in the workplace increases the talent pool, and the best creative talent can come from untapped employment pools A focus on diversity can attract more candidates, and encourage them to join an organisation: in a Glassdoor survey, two-thirds of those polled said that diversity was important to them when evaluating companies and job offers.

Given demographic trends, future leaders, influencers, and supporters will increasingly be drawn from previously excluded populations. Race equality can help us access diverse talent pools, and recruit top talent. This can improve organisational performance, and provide a competitive advantage

How to Improve Diversity in the Workplace

It is important to attract diverse candidates, otherwise the status quo remains the same no matter how many networks, working groups, and EDI initiatives we introduce.

Think about how to reach, and attract, diverse candidates, and address the factors that could dissuade people from thinking DPAG is for them. Adopt inclusive recruitment practices for all vacancies.

Job advertisement placement is important – ensure adverts are accessible to a wide range of potential applicants. Depending on the role, consider promoting jobs through diverse networks and societies, job fairs, social media (if you have a diverse following), and even the job centre. As recruiters, seek diverse candidates.
Consider job advert and job description content – check for gendered or stereotyped language, ensure essential criteria really are essential, and ensure that the specific experience requested doesn’t deter diverse candidates.
Ensure your webpages are accessible, consider the images and language – are there too many acronyms or other jargon? Share success stories and testimonials from a diverse range of people, and promote flexible working.
Before carrying out any selection processes take Implicit Bias in the Workplace Training as a reminder of how to address your biases and try the Harvard Implicit Associations Test to identify your own biases
Consider whether selection tests are necessary; if they are provide practice tests in advance.
Ensure interviews are structured, with set questions related to agreed criteria and a scoring rubric, to ensure a fair process. Recruitment panellists should challenge bias or homophily from others.
Allow sufficient time for decision-making,

Onboarding is also vital for fostering a sense of belonging which, in-turn, links to job satisfaction, performance and commitment. Focus on the needs of the new starter, rather than those of the organisation.

Standardise processes so that everyone receives the same information and support.
Don’t make assumptions based on your own experience or views.
Get to know the person on a personal level and identify where their strengths and interests lie. Consider how to make the most of these attributes and consider tasks they could undertake and networks that they could join.
Facilitate introductions to colleagues.
Make people feel valued - ask for their views and opinions and avoid blame.

Resources:

EDI Article: Fair Play Talks: Holistic View of Diversity Needed to Embed Real Workplace Inclusion, Confirms McKenzie-Delis Review

Blog: Buffer.com: The 3 Research-Backed Benefits of Diversity That Guide Our Team Growth

Office for National Statistics (ONS) Population of England and Wales: Population estimates by ethnic group and religion, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

Blog: Vantage Circle.com: 100 Powerful Diversity And Inclusion Quotes for a Stronger Company Culture

Blog: The Guardian (2015): A workforce that reflects our diverse society | | The Guardian

Noemí Enchautegui-de-Jesús, Diane Hughes, Kristen E. Johnson, and Hyun Joo Oh, “Well-being in the context of workplace diversity”, Journal of Community Psychology, 2006, volume 34, number 2, pp. 211–23) Well‐being in the context of workplace ethnic diversity - Enchautegui‐de‐Jesús - 2006 - Journal of Community Psychology - Wiley Online Library

NHS Employers (2021), Inclusive recruitment: Leading positive change: Inclusive recruitment | NHS Employers

Responses to Common Criticisms of Anti-Racism Action in SteM- Point 10: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AoFbaCEfP5qgBMjKnpsnzx5idYPdbq6x/view

Review Article:Making Better Decisions in Groups: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.170193

Research Article: Groups of diverse problem solvers can outperform groups of high-ability problem solvers: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0403723101

Research Article: Effects of Racial Diversity on Complex Thinking in College Students: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00710.x

McKinsey Report- Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters

Forbes Report: Diversity Drives Innovation: https://www.forbes.com/forbesinsights/innovation_diversity/

Webinar: Tackling Bias in Recruitment, Pearn Kandola (29 minutes): Tackling Bias in Recruitment

Image of a poster created to outline diversity makes science better. Engagement: When inclusivity is made a priority in the workplace, people feel more comfortable to engage.
Decision-making: People with diverse backgrounds have unique experiences and perspectives, and because of this, they approach problems differently and ask different questions, leading to better decision-making.
Communication: Many global health issues disproportionately affect underrepresented communities. A focus on diversity in research groups can ensure that people feel represented and have a voice. Diverse groups are also more likely to design unbiased solutions and can more effectively recruit and engage broad public audiences.
Innovation & creativity: Diverse groups develop more innovative solutions, increasing the likelihood of scientific success and promoting competitiveness,

Anti-Racism Resources January 2022

Institutional Racism

“[t]he collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin”. The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, report of an inquiry by Sir William Macpherson of Cluny, Cm 4262-I, para. 6.34, p49, February 1999

Institutional racism is a commonplace and often subtle form of racism that manifests in policies, processes, attitudes and behaviours that result in discrimination, or inequalities of opportunity or outcome. Many organisations don’t realise how their policies and practices disadvantage certain people but institutional racism is evident in education, healthcare, housing, employment, and criminal justice. This can affect a child from birth and the lasting impact can be seen throughout the lives of those from minoritised groups.

Image showing six text boxes considering inequalities in healthcare, education, finance, housing, justice and funding with examples for each.
Black women 5x & Asian women 2x more likely to die as a result of complications in pregnancy than white women.
Black babies over twice as likely to be stillborn than White babies.
6% Black school leavers attended a Russell group university (12% Mixed & Asian, 11% White).
58% Black UK-domiciled qualifiers received a 1st or 2:1 (81% White, 70% Asian, 77% Mixed.
Black workers with degrees earn on average 23% less than White workers.
36% of those from Ethnic Minorities live in poverty compared to 17% White people.
31% Pakistani or Bangladeshi people live in overcrowded accommodation (27% Black & 8% White)
Homelessness reduced by 12% for White households & increased by 4% for Black, 3% for Asian & 2% for Mixed (2006-2018).
3x higher rates of prosecution & sentencing for Black people than for White people.
Black people 9x more likely to be stopped and searched than White people.
1.2% of PhD funded studentships awarded to Black or Black Mixed students (UKRI 2019).
UK based BAME researchers underrepresented in grant awards (83.9% White, 6.4% Asian, 4% Mixed, 0% Black (Wellcome 2020).

What are we doing to challenge Institutional Racism?

Race Equality Charter bronze action plan agreed by the University in 2018.
Introduction of the Black Academic Futures Scholarship to fund postgraduate research degrees by UK students of Black or mixed-Black ethnicity in 2021.
University-wide Race Equality Task Force convened in 2021 to advance racial equality.
In 2021 DPAG formed an Anti-Racism Working Group to promote an anti-racist and inclusive work and study environment, and to improve staff and student diversity.
Consulting staff and students on their experiences (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - Survey Report 2021 - Anti-Racism (ox.ac.uk) to inform our Anti-Racism activities.
Introducing inclusive recruitment practices for academic positions, and EDI criteria for all vacancies.

What more can we do?

Ensure that key decision-making and/or research is informed by contributions from those with a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences.
Challenge policies and practices where you perceive inequalities. If you have concerns about policies or practices within DPAG, contact HR, the EDI Officer, or the Head of Administration and Finance.
Include a commitment to EDI as essential criteria in recruitment.
Share job vacancies with diverse networks, including: Black in Neuro, Black in Cardio, Black in Physiology, Black in Cancer.
Make efforts to increase Black, Asian and minority ethnic representation of staff at all levels.
Use positive action measures, such as mentoring, sponsorship, development programmes, and targeted advertising to support staff from previously excluded groups to reach more senior positions. Positive action is lawfully permitted under the Equality Act 2010 as a legitimate means of reducing inequalities between groups in employment.
Consider equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) when selecting external partners, collaborators, and suppliers, (eg their commitment to anti-racism, and diversity amongst their workforce).
Join DPAG's Anti-Racism Working Group - email equality@dpag.ox.ac.uk

Data Sources

Report highlights ‘striking’ inequalities in UK maternal deaths (rcm.org.uk)

MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Surveillance Report 2018 summary.pdf (ox.ac.uk)

Statutory homelessness GOV.UK Ethnicity facts and figures (ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk)

The Broken Pipeline Barriers to Black PhD Students Accessing Research Council Funding - Leading Routes

bame student attainment.pdf (universitiesuk.ac.uk)

Disproportionate use of police powers: A spotlight on stop and search and the use of force (justiceinspectorates.gov.uk)

Race report statistics | Equality and Human Rights Commission (equalityhumanrights.com)

Report Wellcome Grant Funding data 2019-20.pdf

tackling racial harassment in higher education.pdf (universitiesuk.ac.uk)

This is an image of a physical poster created by DPAG's Anti-Racism Working Group and displayed on-site to link to this webpage. It reminds people of the actions they can take to address institutional racism, as outlined on this webpage.

Anti-Racism Resources October 2021

What is anti-racism?

There's a big difference between being not-racist and being anti-racist. I know it doesn't seem like it. I know that both of these things seem equally good, but they're not. John Amaechi, Psychologist, author and former NBA basketball player

Anti-racism is the work of actively opposing racism by advocating for changes that promote racial equity in society.

Racism causes harm in multiple ways, to lives and mental health and wellbeing, to our communities and institutions, and to our society.

Image showing one in twenty students leaving studies due to racial harassment and three in twenty staff leaving their job due to racial harassment. Data source: Equality & Human Rights Universities Challenged report.

Image relates to UK University staff and students. Source: Tackling racial harassment: Universities challenged Executive Summary (equalityhumanrights.com)

Anti-racism has to be prioritised in all we do to promote equity and inclusion, and increase diversity. The journey to being anti-racist can be an uncomfortable, or even difficult one, as we acknowledge our own biases, privileges, and beliefs, alongside those of our social groups, family, and organisations, and navigate ways to address them.

Image showing % of UK professors by gender and race in 2020 - 65% white male, 25% white female, 8% BME male, 2% BME female. There were 35 Black female professors and 14,900 White male professors. Data from Advance-HE.

The key is to take personal action as this will enable you to grow to be actively anti-racist, and support the diversity and inclusion within the workplace.