23 Oct 2020

Diversity Lens - Issue 49

Diversity Lens - Issue 133 Diversity Lens - Issue 132 Diversity Lens - Issue 131

Oct 23

Diversity Lens - Issue 49

Diversity Lens

In a rush? This week we look at a new funding opportunity for women of colour in academia and hear Barbie's take on systemic racism. We explore the lack of support for young people's mental health and for disabled university students as the virus continues to escalate. Read this account of identity struggles within the Black South-Asian community. Scroll down for our jobs of the week.

Latest News

Celebrating 5 years of BAME Recruitment!
We have come a long way from our humble beginnings at our CEO Cynthia’s kitchen but we continue to champion those from marginalised communities and be the driver of social change! Our mission and purpose has never been greater and now more than ever, the need to create equal access to opportunities for everyone is an urgent priority. We are proud of the team we have built at BAME Recruitment who continue to champion our mission, and the partners we support along their journey of change. Happy 5th birthday and here’s to many more years of being change makers!

We are celebrating the last 5 years and looking back on the landmark achievements.

Megan Thee Stallion launched a scholarship fund for women of colour
Rapper, and now philanthropist, Megan Thee Stallion has just launched a scholarship fund that's specifically targeted at women of colour who are pursuing degrees. The scholarship is called 'Don't Stop', is globally accessible, and grants candidates $10,000. In partnership with Amazon's Rap Rotation the artist announced the scheme on Thursday via her instagram page with the caption: "Let's get these degrees ladies". The reason for the launch is to encourage a demographic that has been routinely marginalised into higher education, a path Megan Thee Stallion is currently pursuing herself.

Read time: 2 minutes

Are disabled uni students getting enough help?
With the coronavirus changing our methods of transport and communication, people who already required additional assistance at university are voicing their struggle to cope with these adaptations. Disabled students are facing the brunt of this change in particular supplying yet another blow to the function of higher education institutions this academic year. According to a NUS survey, over a quarter of participants were unable to access online learning during lockdown and almost a fifth of participants said that they lacked the support necessary to cope with the pandemic more generally. BBC's Sue Paz documents the testimonies of three students who have all received varying, but inadequate treatment from their designated universities. Read about their experiences, click the image below.

Read time: 5 minutes

Why being Black & South Asian can sometimes feel like a contradiction
The intersectionality of identity can be difficult to navigate personally, not to mention how to translate this to the world. The Black South-Asian community encounter this challenge in a severe degree with anti-Blackness still existing in some Asian communities. Banseke Kayembe is exploring her racial identity against this backdrop and talks to other Black Asians in the U.K who have experienced anti-Blackness from their own family in the form of harmful stereotypes and unaccepted Black partners. Banseke is working to embrace her Indian heritage but wants to see more South Asian people willing to call out anti-Blackness and examine their own prejudices. “The next generation can change the narrative”, she says.

Read time: 7 minutes

Diversity and Inclusion Insights

Ethnicity pay gap largest in London
Although the ethnicity pay gay is narrowing, the disparity between wages in relation to ethnicity is still a cause for concern. In 2019, black and minority ethic employees earned almost a quarter less than their white counterparts according to new data from the Office for National Statistics. To make matters worse, this data does not include the pandemic's economic impact, which - when compared to historical instances of crisis - widens this disparity. Since 2007, employers with over 250 staff are required by law to report on gender pay gay. This clause does not extend to ethnicity and the government are unlikely to issue a change in regulations this turbulent year.

Read time: 2 minutes

Ada Lovelace Day
Ada Lovelace Day, honoured last week, is an annual celebration of women working in the male-dominated science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) sectors. The BBC speak to women in and around the technology sector about how they have adapted to the challenges of working during the coronavirus pandemic, which we know women have experienced the brunt of the impact in personal and professional spheres. We hear from women working from a caravan, losing business, struggling with childcare and teaching themselves new skills. Their resilience is admirable.

Read time: 6 minutes

Story of the Week

Covid: What is the mental health cost to the young?
With the return of children to school and students to university, the long-term impact of the coronavirus on young people is becoming increasingly concerning. We have witnessed UK teenagers first encouraged to leave home for university, then blamed for the rising COVID cases, with thousands forced to quarantine in new surroundings amongst strangers. With mental health conditions already on the rise prior to the lockdown, these problems have only been exacerbated. Psychiatrists have argued that the needs of young people have largely been ignored in the crisis, their voices silenced whilst decisions are being made about their future. In what may be the largest at risk age group for mental health issues arising, students in higher education are being cut off from their support systems and prevented from normal university socialising experiences. Amanda Chetwynd-Cowieson, Chair of the British Youth Council, says we need young voices represented at the top table in order to consider the youth impact in decision-making.

Read time: 5 minutes

Featured Video

Barbie and Nikki Discuss Racism
Barbie talks about the Black Lives Matter movement and having "tough conversations" with her friend Nikki. Nikki shares her experience of racial discrimination to the shock and dismay of Barbie. These are great conversations to expose children to in order to explain the systemic injustices against Black people in society, and to help the next generation to continue to make a change.

"You listening and being supportive is helpful"

Inspirational Person of the Week

George the Poet
George the Poet, or George Mpanga, is a London-born spoken word performer of Ugandan heritage who has received critical acclaim as an artist and a social commentator. In the interview below he talks about growing up with a lack of representation in the media of people who looked and sounded like him. Consequently, he gravitated towards rap music in which he started his career in, however he wanted to "evolve the conversation" and moved towards poetry and spoken word to reach a larger audience. More recently, he has moved towards podcasting to do this. In “Have You Heard George’s Podcast?”, George discusses growing up on a London council estate, school segregation, generational wealth, racist policing, and many, many more social political issues. The New Yorker describes it as "consciousness-streaming self-examination", and the latest season will be released later this year.