The true extent and pervasiveness of systemic and institutional racism emerges when published data from a variety of sources are merged. The process of collection and reprocessing/merging the data is metadata analysis.

Research Work Summary


Grand goal : Eradication of systemic and institutional racism in academia, NHS and schools.


Summary: I analyse published equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) data, curate EDI data and track and monitor anti-racism initiatives. This is largely UK based but owing to the international nature of publishing in academia, I do interact and follow discussions of EDI/anti-racism further afield.


Research Interests


1. Monitoring EDI Initiatives and their outcomes


 It is widely acknowledged that there is pervasive systemic and institutional racism in UK and specifically in my fields of interest: academia, NHS and schools [abc]. There are some ongoing initiatives that have been proposed by various bodies (Funders such as UKRI, Wellcome, NIHR etc, various UK Universities, NHS Trusts, GMC, BMA, RCN) to tackle these issues with the goal of promoting equality. I actively monitor these initiatives, report how they have been instituted, who was the beneficiary and whether the initiative had the desired outcome. The aim is to collate best practice as well as identify methodology that is ineffective or harmful with the grand goal of eradicating systemic and institutional racism. 


2. Metadata analysis of EDI data


I am not a proponent of data driven EDI when used on its own. While data driven EDI can, under the right circumstances, be a useful tool, it cannot encompass the true experience of Black people and other minoritised or marginalised groups. I am a proponent of collecting available data (ethnicity, hiring, retention, promotion, complaint handling, etc) and utilising it in research. This is done in tandem with highlighting qualitative research especially directly led by Black researchers [def]. 


3. Communication to the general public on actions to tackle systemic and institutional racism 


I utilise social media (Twitter - @paperwhispers) to communicate openly with organisations that need to tackle systemic and institutional racism. I disseminate information to the general public on social media with linked sources and references to encourage others to partake in research. I enjoy citing Black academics and celebrating new Black women professors in UK.


References


a. https://www.ukri.org/news/ukri-publishes-ethnicity-analysis-of-funding-applicants-and-awardees/
b. https://www.england.nhs.uk/midlands/wrei/tackling-racism-and-other-types-of-discrimination/
c. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/24/systemic-racism-teachers-speak-out-about-discrimination-in-uk-schools
d. https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/10075/staying-power/pdf/ucu_rollock_february_2019.pdf
e. https://leadingroutes.org/mdocs-posts/the-broken-pipeline-barriers-to-black-students-accessing-research-council-funding?mdocs-file=2943&mdocs-url=false
f. https://www.ymca.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/ymca-young-and-black.pdf