Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to address inequalities in career progression among academics from ethnic minority backgrounds who are also (a) disabled or (b) neurodivergent.

The English higher education (HE) sector is independent of government, and institutional autonomy is a defining principle of our world-class sector. This autonomy protects academic freedom and means that decisions regarding staff appointment and selection rightly sit with providers, not ministers.

Nevertheless, the government’s view is that a diverse workforce is essential to supporting innovation and creating the right conditions for debate and challenge. Moreover, young people from diverse communities should be inspired to see excellent role models in the academic sector.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes data on staff within the sector. This data can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/staff.

The department continues to monitor published sector data, while recognising that responsibility for staff recruitment, support and career progression ultimately rests with HE providers.