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The University of Southampton
Southampton Education School

New equality and diversity role for Education professor

Published: 11 November 2015
Prof Kalwant Bhopal

Professor of Education and Social Justice Kalwant Bhopal has been appointed to an important new role as Education’s Equality and Diversity Champion for the Faculty of Social, Human and Mathematical Sciences.

 

Kalwant will be working with all the heads of academic units to progress issues of equality and diversity within the Faculty.

Head of Social, Human and Mathematical Sciences Professor Jane Falkingham welcomed Kalwant to the position. She said: “I am thrilled that Kalwant has agreed to take on this role as she will bring her extensive experience to the role. She is currently an Athena SWAN reviewer and has also provided expert advice on the introduction of the new Race Equality Charter.”

Kalwant’s research focuses on the achievements and experiences of minority ethnic groups in education and she is frequently quoted in the media on this subject.

She was recently featured in a Times Higher Education article exploring the underrepresentation of Black and minority ethnic (BME) staff in top roles in UK higher education.

She was quoted in the article as saying: “When [BME staff] pushed forward for promotion, they felt there was a higher threshold for them than [for] their white counterparts. It is very covert, subtle and nuanced, but it amounts to the hierarchy seeking to reproduce itself in its own white, middle-class image.”

She continues that White identity is “incredibly privileged and protected within academia” and that many top minority students are put off pursuing an academic career by the belief that their promotion prospects will be limited in white-dominated institutions.

The article also cites her recent book The Experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic Academics: A Comparative Study of the Unequal Academy which reveals that the proportion of all degrees obtained by all BME students in the US increased in the first decade of the 21st century.

One of Kalwant’s first responsibilities in her new role is working with colleagues to understand the experience of BME leaders in higher education institutions.

They are inviting all BME academics of any grade to complete a survey that will provide important evidence to inform the University on ways in which they can help BME academics progress into senior roles.

Kalwant is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Kings College London. She has been a Visiting Professor at Queens University, Belfast, and Visiting Scholar at the UCL Institute of Education, London.

Read the Times Higher Education article in full here.

 

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