The proportion of black and ethnic minority academics at UK universities is creeping up, but there is still a way to go before it is representative of the student body, new data shows.?

The latest?, a?report first launched in 2022, shows mixed signs of progress, with more representation for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) academics, including professors, but the ethnicity pay gap for university staff widening.?

While BAME representation among academics rose to 20.2 per cent in the 2022-23 academic year, compared with 18.5 per cent the previous year, the proportion at staff level still lags behind the student body.?

At undergraduate level, 33 per cent of students are BAME, falling to 27 per cent at postgraduate level.?

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The gap between students and senior academics is even wider, with 15 per cent BAME representation among professors.

¡°Reports have always shown [that] students from minority ethnic groups want to also see teachers and leaders that look like them,¡± said David Mba, vice-chancellor of Birmingham City University and one of the academics behind the index.?

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It ¡°comes back to ensuring that your students feel that they belong in the institution¡±, said Mba, who is?one of two black vice-chancellors in the UK.?

This year¡¯s index also analysed?Advance HE¡¯s Race Equality Charter (REC), which aims to improve representation in universities.?

While 100 institutions have signed up, there is ¡°little evidence¡±?on whether it is working, Mba said.?

The report finds, of the 52 universities that have achieved an REC award, 77 per cent improved the proportion of BAME academic staff relative to students, but the gap widened for 19 per cent of holders.

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Across all institutions, the average ethnicity pay gap between BAME and white staff,?which includes academic and professional services staff, increased to 6 per cent from 5.6 per cent.?

Given the?significant financial challenges facing universities, was Mba concerned that diversity initiatives may fall to the wayside? ¡°Absolutely,¡± he said. ¡°This is where it¡¯s down to leadership in each organisation¡± to ensure institutions aren¡¯t moving ¡°backwards¡±.

With?thousands of job cuts?announced across the sector, there are also worries that minority groups could be hit disproportionately. ¡°I think the best we can hope for is that the equality impact assessments have been undertaken at every institution, which they should be doing, and that allows managers to ensure that no one particular group bears the consequences of any job cuts,¡± Mba said.

The latest index comes at a time of wider discussion about freedom of speech on campuses and,?following a record fine issued?to the University of Sussex by the Office for Students, a?debate about what exactly constitutes harassment.?

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A?2019 report found?that nearly a quarter of ethnic minority students in the UK have experienced racial harassment.?

¡°The key thing is to ensure that there are checks and balances to try and manage this very delicate issue,¡± Mba said.?

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¡°If we want to improve representation, we have to address those racial issues, and this dilemma of freedom of speech and harassment is one that we all have to try and navigate.¡±

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com