The structural whiteness of academia

Thursday, 1 October 2020

OPINION: Evidence of institutional racism in Aotearoa is overwhelming. Rhys Jones recently described the health sector by saying “inequity is not a bug in the system – it’s a feature” and we argue the university is no exception.

This collective form of racism is embedded as normal practice within society and is systematic, long-term and often grounded in inertia.

A recent report into Waikato University acknowledged there was structural, systemic and casual discrimination at the university. Responses on social media suggest this is not limited to one university. People are feeling the impact everywhere.

As tauiwi academics (of colour and white) who have worked in diverse geo-political contexts, we see this moment as an opportunity to reflect personally and amplify the voices of Māori colleagues in an endeavour to contribute towards systematic change.

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**

This includes acknowledging universities’ colonial history and how it has, and continues to, shape the curriculum, research, funding, hiring and culture.

Shifting the culture and addressing institutional racism can be like talking to a ‘brick wall’. Speaking up is faced with increased institutional resistance and as a 2019 US study showed faculty of colour and females “disproportionately experience stress due to discrimination”, and felt they had to work harder to be perceived as a legitimate scholars. Academia can be unwelcoming or toxic for people of colour.

In New Zealand, Māori scholars have pointed out the need to provide Kaupapa Māori support which is crucial for Māori graduate success. However, such support requires the presence, representation and participation of Māori staff and faculty in institutional decision-making.

Pākehā are overrepresented across Aotearoa Universities, and are more likely to be employed at a higher rank. European men dominate university employment particularly in senior positions.

In fact, the number of European men in higher ranking positions is higher than the total number of all Māori staff, and despite equal achievement female academics are less likely to be promoted to higher ranks.

Not only are Pākehā academics over-represented, but institutional culture and practices often work against retention and recruitment of Indigenous scholars. Thus resulting in questions such as ‘why is my curriculum so white? Or, ‘why are all my professors white’?

Bicultural practices are crucial in raising awareness about the importance of upholding treaty obligations; however, raising awareness without addressing the infrastructure of the university will not lead to systemic change. Upholding Te Tiriti must go beyond symbolic gestures of cultural practice and include partnership and power-sharing.

However, despite most Aotearoa universities embracing bicultural practices, change is slow, with the last decade showing minimal improvement to hiring practices. This suggests that bicultural competence requirements alone are insufficient, although institutionalising these programmes can provide support for positions that require the expertise of Māori candidates (as well as Pasifika and people of colour).

Requiring Te Tiriti education and diversity/inclusion training for staff is one important step, but we argue more specific support is needed to tackle institutionalised racism in Aotearoa universities:

• Develop strong partnerships with mana whenua and support policies, practices developed in partnership with Maori

• Acknowledge institutional anti-racism as a fundamental aspect of upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi

• Acknowledge the entrenched nature of institutionalised racism, regularly report demographic data of academic staff

• Express vocal support with leaders working to institutionalise anti-racist efforts and reforms led by Indigenous scholars and people of colour

• Restructure hiring practices, with attention to how new positions are conceptualised and written and by whom.

• Restructure processes that acknowledge and recognise underrepresented staff’s different pathways to academic success

• Develop evidence-based recruitment and retention strategies for diversifying academic staff

• Create supportive spaces for conversations about racism

• Share labour of anti-racism work so this does not add to cultural taxation.

Increasing representation among Indigenous Māori scholars and scholars of colour improves retention/promotion rates for underrepresented faculty/staff while simultaneously improving retention and belonging for underrepresented students, to increase academic success.

Furthermore, diversifying academic staff improves the quality of research/education for all.

As Māori education professor Russell Bishop has said, “‘What’s good for Māori is good for everybody,’ but ‘What’s good for everybody is not necessarily good for Māori.’”

Mahdis Azarmandi is a lecturer in the University of Canterbury School of Educational Studies and Leadership whose research focuses on racism and how it is produced in progressive social movements and spaces.

Cheryl Brown is associate Professor in e-learning in the School of Education Studies and Leadership, (Te) Kura Mātauranga me te Rangatiratanga at the University of Canterbury and co-Director of the Digital Education Futures Lab. Her research interests centre around how inequality influences students’ digital experience.

Sara Tolbert is Associate Professor of Science and Environmental Education at the Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha University of Canterbury, and her expertise includes social justice and equity in education.