In the wake of the shocking murder of George Floyd by a police officer on the streets of Minneapolis nearly three years ago, businesses and public institutions pledged to redouble their efforts to tackle racism and discrimination. Pledges, diversity charters and steering groups were launched to show that action was being taken.
Representative organisations in further education joined in making firm commitments to act on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and improve non-white representation in sector leadership positions. Jeff Greenidge, diversity director at the Association of Colleges (AoC), was determined to hold them accountable and ensure they were not just virtue signalling.
AELP, WorldSkills UK, the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) and the Federation of Awarding Bodies are all on board, and the FE commissioner has recently committed their support, an “important indicator” for Greenidge that the dial is shifting.
But real cultural change needs more than just the big players to make grand statements. Has the sector really changed in the way that Greenidge had hoped?
