New £1.5m unit to tackle racial inequalities in science

Actions, not words, are required if universities and industry are going to tackle ‘pervasive’ racism and racial inequalities in chemical sciences.

Published today, Missing Elements - Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in the Chemical Sciences reveals Black and minoritised ethnic chemists still face systemic barriers such as difficulty accessing funding, poorer pay, and fewer career progression opportunities. Many of the issues are exacerbated further for women chemists.

Black and minoritised ethnic chemists were found to be paid £6,000 less than their White colleagues, while Principal Investigators (PIs) from those groups were 7 percentage points less likely to win research funding – and even when funding was awarded, they would receive a lower average award – £320,000 compared to £355,000 for White recipients.

Black chemists in particular face challenges in academia and industry, with numbers falling at every stage of the career path; and both Black and minoritised ethnic students are less likely to win a place at a Russell Group University when compared to White students.

We are now launching a £1.5 million Race and Ethnicity Unit, along with a host of other measures, to help break down these barriers and to push for systemic change.

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