Race Equality

 University links and resources

Equality and Diversity Unit (EDU) webpages on race equality

Information about the University’s work to promote race equality. Including resources for BME staff and student wellbeing

University Race Equality Charter application

The Race Equality Charter framework enables universities to identify and critically reflect on the institutional barriers faced by minority ethnic staff and students. The charter acts as an avenue for the University to raise the profile of race equality and maintain dialogue about what race equality looks like in practice at Oxford. The University will apply for the Race Equality Charter again in 2023.

Race Equality Taskforce – University of Oxford

The purpose of the Task Force is to advance racial equality across the collegiate University of Oxford, and to ensure that all people and perspectives are valued and that, in practice, opportunities are open to all people without racial discrimination.

University Anti racism resources

This list of resources is for staff and students to deepen their understanding of anti-racism work in higher education

BME Staff Network

The BME Staff Network is open to all University of Oxford staff who identify as BME.

The group has an email list that acts a confidential discussion forum, and holds various meetings throughout the year, both social and work-related. Membership of the group is kept confidential. 

BIPOC in STEM Network

The BIPOC STEM Network, set up in the summer of 2020, is the first STEM network within the University of Oxford for postgraduates, research staff, academic staff and administrative/support staff that identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) or BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) as well as allies.

Race Equality Allies Book Club

The Allies Book Club is a book club founded and run by University members that seeks to allow its members to take ownership of their own education on race and racism. The club is a space for those who want to be allies to unpick their inherited racial biases and interrogate their own relationship with white supremacy. It is an open and non-judgemental space for learning and self-development. 

The club read a few chapters per fortnight and meet to discuss fortnightly and is open to all.

External links and resources

Document(s) on these external pages may or may not be accessible.

Race Equality Matters Framework

Race Equality Matters are creating a movement, a collaboration of companies, organisations, race networks, experts in the field, allies, and employees to improve workplace equality across the public, private and charity sectors.

Their Race Equality Network will provide free services, insight, opportunities to collaborate and training materials to 1000 ethnic minority network Chairs. The launch of Race Equality Week has united organisations and individuals in activity and will continue to do so every February to address issues affecting ethnic minority employees.

Including guidance and toolkits on how to run ‘Tea break’ and ‘Safe Space’ events.

10 Simple Rules For Building An Anti-Racist Lab (2020) 

V. Bala Chaudhary and Asmeret Asefaw Berhe. This paper, published in the PLOS Computational Biology journal in October 2020, outlines steps that can be taken to make research groups more equitable and inclusive.

Panel Discussion: Navigating STEM as a BIPOC

A recording of a panel discussion about navigating STEM as a person of colour from the Oxford University BIPOC STEM Network held on 11 March 2021.

‘Not built for minorities to succeed’: black scientists on academia’s race problem

The Guardian interviews three senior academics in medicine, chemistry and physics who share their experiences and thoughts on how to improve underrepresentation.

Not-racist v anti-racist: what’s the difference? 

In this bitesize video (<3 min) from the BBC, John Amaechi discusses the difference between being not-racist and being anti-racist.

What is white privilege?

In this bitesize video (<3 min) from the BBC, John Amaechi encourages us to think about our privileges, white or otherwise.

Addressing the barriers to BAME employee career progression to the top (CIPD, 2017)

Offers insight, support and guidance for employers and examines barriers to access and progression within their business context.

BAME Awarding Gap Project: Staff Toolkit (University College London, 2020)

The toolkit aims to support staff to achieve outstanding teaching. The existence of differential outcomes like the awarding gap suggests we are falling short in our efforts to ensure success for all our students. The toolkit is designed to help staff understand factors associated with the awarding gap, which are broken down into four key themes: inclusive curriculum, inclusive teaching, learning and assessment, belonging and creating safe spaces. Each section explains why the theme is significant and provides a selection of practical tips, resources and further reading related to that theme.

Detailed ethnicity analysis of funding applicants and awardees 2014-15 to 2018-19

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has published detailed ethnicity analysis of funding applicants and awardees over the past five years. This builds on data published in June 2020 for diversity characteristics of its funding applicants and recipients for financial years 2014-15 to 2018-19. The publication included results on applications and awards by ethnicity and presented results broken down by two ethnic categories: ethnic minorities and white. This report presents results from analysis of patterns of applications and awards of the ethnic groups comprising ethnic minorities.

Supporting Black, Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff during the COVID-19 crisis (Coventry University, 2020)

This brief 5-point guide is intended to help managers of staff to provide inclusive responses during the Covid-19 crisis. Though focusing specifically on BAME staff, these are relevant for all staff.

The white elephant in the room: ideas for reducing racial inequalities in higher education (HEPI, 2019)

This report includes ideas and policy recommendations for reducing racial inequalities in higher education.

Black, Asian and minority ethnic student attainment at UK universities: #closingthegap (Universities UK, 2019, 2022)

This report looks at how structural inequalities in UK universities have a significant impact on the ability of students to achieve and provides advice on what actions need to be taken. Includes a review three years on on progress and opportunities

Resources relating to Colonialism

• Oxford and Colonialism Project: The Oxford and Colonialism website brings together the wide range of initiatives across the collegiate University engaging with its colonial past and its ongoing manifestations
• The Oxford and Empire Network: The Oxford and Empire Network encourages discussion of the history and legacies of colonialism in Oxford.  It serves as a multi-disciplinary hub, with a multi-resource website, providing a central site for developing, promoting, and sharing research into the relationship between Oxford and imperialism, broadly conceived
• BBC documentaries including David Olusoga’s “Black and British” available on BOB (learning on screen) accessible via your SSO
• Applying a Decolonial Lens to Research Structures, Norms and Practices in Higher Education Institutions - SOAS (2019) The current report summarises a conversation event that was held at SOAS University of London to discuss research practices in higher education institutions from a decolonial point of view. The event emerged from concerns about the changing funding landscape in recent years, and the role of research offices in research development practices, especially in relation to emerging schemes that fund research related to UK Official Development Assistance (ODA). It aimed to bridge on-going efforts to diversify university curricula and decolonise knowledge production in British and other western universities with research development structures and norms as propagated by research offices and researchers, which had previously received little attention

Reading list

• Don’t Touch My Hair – Emma Dabiri
• How to be an antiracist – Ibram X. Kendi
• Why I’m No Longer Taliking to White People About Race – Reni Eddo-Lodge
• Superior – Angela Saini
• How to argue with a racist – Adam Rutherford
• The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks – Rebecca Skloot (This highlights the source of HeLa cells and outlines importance of considering societal ethics in our scientific life. Intersectional with issue of sexism)
• Hello World – Hannah Fry (includes examples of how “unbiased” algorithms and technology are vulnerable to perpetuating “default white male”)