Challenges Persist for Early-Career Black Academics

In an “embarrassing moment” to witness, a British university’s vice-chancellor “beelined” for the only Black academic at a PhD reception, despite not having spoken to any other candidates. At a European research institute, the only Black female researcher was included in every possible photo, even when the subject of the photo opportunity was unrelated to her area of expertise.

One Black British academic felt “discriminated against for promotion” while white colleagues with fewer high-profile publications or research grants were promoted instead. Yet another noticed anti-Black racism increase at their institution when the university publicly declared its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Dr. Brian Burt

These are just a a few of the experiences that 97 Black early-career academics (ECAs) in the United Kingdom recounted in written responses and interviews as part of a new report published Aug. 1. The report, titled “Unblocking the Pipeline: Supporting the Retention, Progression and Promotion of Black Early-Career Academics,” was the culmination of a monthslong survey of Black ECAs by the Higher Education Policy Institute, a U.K. think tank.

The results reflected problems that Black academics have always known to plague academia: institutional racism and insufficient support for Black ECAs that create barriers to job security and career advancement for Black academics. Fewer than half of the 97 Black ECAs surveyed reported feeling satisfied in their jobs or able to be themselves at work, and just a third felt that their workplaces were inclusive or their pay fair.

Many of the survey respondents felt their institutions inadequately supported them in advancing their careers, and most thought promotion and tenure criteria were too nebulous or unclearly articulated. Just 38% said they would feel comfortable reporting bullying or harassment to their institutions, despite 68% saying they had good relationships with their colleagues.

The report’s lead researcher, Dr. Becca Franssen, is a partner at the British talent-search firm GatenbySanderson, where she helps British universities fill executive roles. Franssen says that her experiences seeking out diverse candidates for those jobs drove her desire to work on the report, which is the first in a three-part series that will examine the experiences of Black U.K. academics in various stages of their careers.

“I would say that the pool is very small of diverse candidates,” says Franssen.  “And we kind of hear talk about the leaky pipeline. There’s kind of Black academics in particular exiting academia at various stages. But I firmly believe that actually, the pipeline isn’t leaky. It’s blocked, and there are issues that prevent particularly Black ECAs from pursuing careers in academia.”

A global problem

Dr. Jerlando F.L. Jackson, the dean of Michigan State University’s College of Education and co-chair of the International Colloquium on Black Males in Education, points out that the challenges described by the surveyed ECAs — such as feeling unsupported in the workplace — are broadly reflective of the experiences of Black academics globally.

“The report finds that Black ECAs feel uncomfortable reporting issues like harassment, which likely stems from a distrust in institutional processes,” says Jackson, an expert on higher education leadership. “This parallels findings in the U.S., where harassment reporting mechanisms often fail to protect Black faculty. The fear of reprisal, skepticism about institutional commitment, and a lack of senior Black representation contribute to this discomfort.”

Dr. Lori Patton Davis, a professor at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, says the way the U.S. academy discusses anti-Blackness — a heavier focus on overt racism over unconscious bias, for instance — often differs from how it is in the U.K. However, she thinks the challenges that the surveyed ECAs identified, such as feeling simultaneously hypervisible (as a symbol of their institutions’ diversity) and invisible (in regard to promotions and raises), are relatively universal.Dr. Lori Patton Davis

This is especially true for Black women, who are often expected to function as the “maids of academe” — a term coined by Dr. Debra Harley in the early 2000s, says Patton Davis, whose research focuses heavily on Black student and faculty experiences in higher education.

“I’ve felt it,” says Patton Davis. “I can say with amazing certainty that every Black woman academic I’ve dealt with has felt it. And for early-careers, there is an added pressure to be on committees, and do all of the service, and be present at everything, because anything can count against you, especially in tenure and promotion processes or other opportunities. People tend to use that against Black people, and it’s like there are different rules or different standards when it comes to Black academics.”

If anything, such problems can often be more pronounced in the U.S., where Black people are far less represented in academia than they are in the U.K., proportional to the countries’ populations. The centuries of systemic racism that have led to such disparities, combined with anti-DEI efforts that have recently swept the nation, have made it uniquely difficult to create institutional change in the U.S., says Patton Davis.

Dr. Brian Burt, a professor of educational leadership and policy analysis and the director of the Equity and Inclusion Laboratory at University of Wisconsin – Madison, says he agrees that the anti-DEI movement represents a significant threat to racial progress within the U.S. academy.

“This topic isn’t about what an individual can do differently,” says Burt, whose research focuses in part on the experiences of Black male graduate students in engineering. “Institutional leaders and policymakers must make a stand if they are strongly committed to changing the status quo, because there is talent out there, and there are people who want to serve in these roles, but there’s other forces making it challenging to do so.”

Outcomes and solutions

The Higher Education Policy Institute’s report features several key recommendations for “unblocking the pipeline” of career advancement for Black ECAs. These include offering standardized mentorship programs for all students — plus factoring the time faculty members spend mentoring into their workloads and promotion prospects — and providing scholarships targeted at candidates who face disadvantages in developing their higher education careers.

Both Burt and Patton Davis agree that most U.S. institutions could benefit from implementing the report’s recommended strategies, but especially one in particular: formalizing criteria and processes for granting tenure, promotions, and raises. These requirements are often not standardized nor clearly articulated, even among different departments at the same institution, which can leave too much room for interpretation, Burt adds. That wiggle room can allow arbitrariness, favoritism or bias to factor into decisions

Even when faculty expectations are laid out in writing, the responsibilities that disproportionately fall on the shoulders of women and people of color are often undervalued in promotion and tenure decisions, says Patton Davis.

“[Service tasks] don’t get counted in a substantive way, especially if you’re at a research-intensive university,” says Patton Davis. “So, you can be mentoring these students … and being an advisor, and all of those things, and it gets placed in this nice little bucket called service. But service doesn’t carry the same weight as research. Neither does teaching. They don’t carry the same amount of weight when it comes to faculty evaluations along the tenure track, and so there has to be some accounting for how service gets counted, how it gets recognized and rewarded.”Dr. Jerlando F.L. Jackson

Having earned his PhD ten years ago, Burt is no longer an ECA, but he’s not far removed from the early days of his career, either. He remembers being a PhD student who loved to write, research and teach, but felt uncertain whether there was a place for him in the academy. The Black graduate students he mentors often have similar concerns, especially in today’s politically charged, diversity-critical climate, he said.

“For somebody who does want to be a faculty member, but it just seems very unattainable, I would say to stay positive,” says Burt. “Do know that it is possible. If it doesn’t happen immediately, it’s not an indication of your ability, but perhaps of a system that is still wrought for change. For newer faculty members who do get these jobs, I would say, try as hard as possible to seek mentorship within your institution and outside your institution.”

Jackson says it’s important to recognize that being a Black academic in an overwhelmingly white academy doesn’t get easier, the difficulties just change. Further study of the experiences of Black academics, particularly longitudinal studies that track their career trajectories, is needed, he adds.  

“The challenges faced by Black academics evolve over time,” says Jackson. “Early in one’s career, issues like exclusion from decision-making and unclear promotion pathways are predominant. However, as one progresses, issues like tokenism and emotional labor intensify. Understanding that these challenges do not diminish, but change in nature, is important for supporting Black ECAs.”