Surveying the lived experiences of BAME chemistry students and staff

The underrepresentation of BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) individuals is a longstanding issue in Chemistry, leading to a huge loss of talent. York Chemistry has worked extensively to support the careers of women in science since 2003. We are now keen to use this experience to build the best possible environment to support BAME students and staff. 

In this project, we will carry out a broad listening exercise of BAME chemists at York. This will let us identify ways in which individuals experience racism, better understand career aspirations and bottlenecks, and identify practical actions that would encourage individuals to continue with chemical careers. 

The project will use an experienced external consultant to conduct a range of focus groups, 1-2-1 interviews, etc  allowing individuals to be as honest as possible. We will investigate how the experiences of UK BAME and non-UK BAME students differ, and also aim to understand whether policy and practice to support gender equality has a positive impact for BAME individuals. Project tools (e.g. surveys) will be transferable to other Chemistry Departments, and results compiled as an openly available report and disseminated widely.

In this poster we will also highlight ongoing work, including redevelopment of our Equality and Diversity training for students, and Decolonisation and Diversification of our curriculum.