Irish universities have all but ignored a recent report from the Higher Education Authority detailing the inequalities that exist between white Irish staff and staff from minority ethnic backgrounds.
That non-white Irish university employees are paid less than their white Irish counterparts, and are less likely to be on permanent contracts is deeply worrying – but for those at a disadvantage, it’s not a surprise. From daily microaggressions to death threats, minorities in higher education face significant barriers to professional progression, never mind merely feeling welcome and safe in their place of work.
The report found that if universities even have policies for addressing discrimination, “there is no real implementation” and no tangible change. It also noted the ineffectiveness of unconscious bias training or initiatives to promote diversity.
Universities cannot ignore this. As many higher-education institutions around the globe confront their historical ties to colonialism and slavery – Trinity among them – their staff must consciously and actively decolonise their own minds. Erasing western-centric natures of many curricula and reconsidering the legacy of problematic figures like Cecil Rhodes and George Berkeley is important – but they must actively make their workplace inclusive and welcoming to those from ethnic minority backgrounds. Universities are bubbles, but they should not be monocultures, and they certainly should not “other” anyone who comes from a background other than the predominant one.
It’s been a year and a half since the murder of George Floyd sparked worldwide protests and demonstrations based on a depressingly simple maxim: black lives matter. Among the many conversations that movement started, racism and discrimination on college campuses was a pertinent one. Eighteen months on, it seems little has changed.
