REVEALED: Just 1.2 per cent of Royal Holloway professors are black

Only 3 out of 250 Royal Holloway professors are black, an investigation by The Royal Holloway Tab has revealed.

While this figure is low, it is above the national average. Most British universities employ 0-2 black professors, according to statistics from the Higher Education Statistics Authority.

Last year, just 6.7 per cent of professors appointed at Royal Holloway were black, our investigation also revealed. A Royal Holloway spokesperson told The RHUL Tab that “initiatives” are underway to “increase the number of black professors” teaching at the College.

The spokesperson said that the College already has a “coaching and mentoring programme” in place and says that it is also in the “final stage of consulting” to introduce an “anonymous application and shortlisting process”.

Royal Holloway’s report on equality and diversity, which publishes data on employment by ethnicity, acknowledges that other minorities are also “under-represented” in jobs across the College.

The proportion of BAME staff employed by the College – 15.5 per cent – is higher than the national average – 14.9 per cent. Still, it should be higher given Royal Holloway’s “proximity to London and other centres of high BAME population”.

The report also states that BAME applicants are “proportionately less successful in getting accepted in job roles”. While BAME applicants make up over 30 per cent of job applicants, under 20 per cent are accepted. Those who are accepted are also more likely to be in lower-paid roles.

In its “Equality Statement”, the College says that it values “diversity and promoting equality of opportunity for all in employment”. An “Equality and Diversity Scheme” exists to promote these values.

Figures for black professors at Royal Holloway are not published in Royal Holloway’s report on equality and diversity. These were obtained separately by The Royal Holloway Tab.

Correction: the headline of an earlier version of this article claimed that “fewer than 1% of Royal Holloway professors are black”. In fact, 1.2% of Royal Holloway professors are black.