There are 23,000 professors in UK universities, but only 160 of them identify as Black.
Of these 160 Black professors, only 50 are women. Of the 164 Vice Chancellors in UK universities, only one is Black – Professor Charles Egbu of Leeds Trinity University.
With very few Black academics progressing to professorial rank despite the increasing number of Black academics, it is hard to argue that this is the result of anything other than structural racism.
The lack of Black academic staff at senior levels is discouraging for Black people considering a career in academia.
In the 2020/21 academic year, there were 15,345 full-time UK-domiciled PhD students in their first year of study, but just 4 per cent were Black.
