REC is part of Advance HE’s Equality Charter Marks programme and provides an opportunity to identify both areas of good practice and where we’re doing less well to co-create actions that advance race equality at the University.

The University has been part of REC since its inception in 2015. In previous submissions, in 2015 and 2018, the university received Bronze awards. To achieve these awards, areas for development we highlighted.

This new Silver submission goes further to reflect on progress as well as ongoing challenges and developed a bold, ambitious, and sustainable plan to eliminate racial inequalities and become an anti-discriminatory, anti-racist, inclusive organisation where everyone feels a sense of belonging and can thrive.

The was based on comprehensive data analysis and open and honest conversations with our students and staff at all levels who shared both positive and negative experiences. Although 96% of actions from our previous award were either ‘achieved’ or ‘in progress’, these candid conversations, together with results of staff and student surveys, provided evidence that not everyone was aware of, or felt they had benefited from the progress made since the previous submission.  

The Silver application therefore explicitly focuses on developing ‘’. This ambition can only be realised by working together to co-create integrated actions aligned with clear targets and other University strategies.

The University of Manchester is committed to progressing race equality. For full transparency, The REC Achievement Plan which emphasises our future focus on impact and not just action has been made available.

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Dawn Edge, Professor of Mental Health and Inclusivity, University Academic Lead for Race, Religion and Belief and Chair of the REC self-assessment team, said: “We know we still have a way to go and need to move at pace, ensuring no one is left behind. Our Achievement Plan therefore signals our intention to focus on measurable markers of success in representation, retention, progression, and culture. Whilst action owners will have responsibility for delivery, we all have a role in eliminating discrimination and advancing race equality.

"We look forward to working with you, evaluating and reporting our progress, to ensure that our University is a great place to work and study for all.”

“The EVENS survey allows us to obtain a deeper understanding of the insidiousness and persistence of racial discrimination in the UK,” said Professor Laia Bécares, Professor of Social Science and Health at King’s College London. “We clearly document that there is a high level of racism in the UK which permeates all aspects of people’s everyday lives and impacts their health, wellbeing, and socioeconomic circumstances.” 

“The innovative, robust survey techniques we used mean we have a larger dataset and detailed data on more ethnic and religious minority groups across a wider range of topics than ever before,” said Professor Nissa Finney, Professor of Human Geography at the University of St Andrews. “This makes our data a powerful tool for understanding, and reducing, ethnic and religious inequalities.”

“It can be easy to look back on the violent, explicit racism of earlier decades and think that racial discrimination is not a major problem in Britain today, but our data proves this idea wrong,” said Professor James Nazroo, Professor of Sociology at The University of Manchester. “Now we have this evidence, it is simply not acceptable to pretend racism does not exist and to carry on as before - EVENS is a wake-up call to make society fairer for everybody.” 

EVENS is the most comprehensive survey of ethnic and religious inequalities for over 25 years, and was supported by the Economics and Social Research Council (ES/V013475/1 and ES/ W000849/1). It was produced in partnership with 13 voluntary, community and social enterprise groups. 

Results from EVENS are available in a new book available in print, e-book and free pdf. The full will be made available in May.

The briefing was also written by Professor James Nazroo and Dr Patricia Irizar of The University of Manchester, as well as Dr Richard Shaw of the University of Glasgow. It draws on a longer article published in , and is part of a by the Runnymede Trust and the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) on the impact of COVID-19 on people from ethnic minority groups.

About the Economic and Social Research Council 

The Economic and Social Research Council () is part of UK Research and Innovation (), a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government. We fund world-leading research, data and post-graduate training in the economic, behavioural, social and data sciences to understand people and the world around us. Our work helps raise productivity, address climate change, improve public services and generate a prosperous, inclusive, healthy and secure society.  

The study, which used data on hospital emergency department presentations across three cities and five hospitals for 10-19 year-olds between 2000-2016, is published today (21/09/21) in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health.

Data which looked at increases in presentations over time found higher average annual increases among Black and South Asian young people and those from other non-white ethnic groups compared to white young people.

However, the researchers urge caution as the absolute increase in numbers, though statistically significant, was small. The findings might also have been accounted for by better recording or population changes.

And despite the increases, rates of self-harm remained highest in young people who were white.

The team analysed the data from 10,211 white, 344 Black, 619 South Asian and 732 other non-white children and adolescents who presented for self-harm at emergency departments in 91ֱ��, Oxford and Derby. The research was carried out as part of the Multicentre 91ֱ�� of Self-Harm in England.

Around half of Black, South Asian and other non-white young people received a specialist psychosocial assessment, compared to over 60% for white groups. Official guidance stipulates everyone who self-harms should be assessed.

Those from an ethnic minority background were more likely to live in economically deprived areas and less likely to be receiving mental health care than their white counterparts.

In terms of outcomes, risk of repetition was lower among ethnic minority groups when compared to white groups. There was little difference in suicide mortality but the overall number of suicide deaths was small.

Lead author Bushra Farooq, a researcher from the University’s Centre for Mental health and Safety said: “Self-harm in all children and adolescents has become a major public health concern in recent years.

“While the majority of presentations continue to be made by white children and adolescents, ethnic minority groups seem to account for an increasing proportion in recent years.

“It’s difficult to know what has driven this among ethnic minority groups specifically. Possible reasons include factors related to psychological health.

“Some people have also speculated that educational pressures or social media use might be driving the increase in young people as a whole but the evidence is far from clear. We know social media can be helpful for some young people.”

“Increases after 2011 may also be associated with deprivation, poverty, and or service related factors which might have particularly affected those living in poorer communities where a disproportionate number of ethnic minority groups live.”

“Unfortunately our study could only look at very broad ethnic groups. Within these broad groups there are some important differences. Future studies must acknowledge and explore these differences.”

Professor Nav Kapur, from The University of Manchester, senior author on the paper, added: “Historically we haven’t had very good information on self-harm and suicide in people from ethnic minorities. Data on young people from these communities has been even more sparse.

“Of course we must keep a close eye on the incidence of suicide and self-harm – the recent data published by the Office of National Statistics suggesting a high overall overate of suicide in people of mixed ethnicity emphasised just how important this is.

“But one of the big stories here is about inequity and access to services – young people from ethnic minority groups lived in more deprived areas, were less likely to be properly assessed and less likely to be in receipt of mental health care.

“We need to understand the reasons for these findings and make sure we do better in the future-whether that is through provision of culturally adapted mental health services or better staff training. We also need to stop thinking about people from ethnic minorities as part of a single group with uniform needs.”

‘Self-harm among children and adolescents by ethnic group: An observational cohort study from the Multicentre 91ֱ�� of Self-Harm in England’ is published in .

The Multicentre 91ֱ�� of Self-Harm in England is a longstanding research project involving collaboration between the University of Oxford, the University of Manchester, and Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. It is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care.

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Published in the BMJ today*, Friday, the paper describes the evidence demonstrating poorer outcomes among ethnic minorities during the pandemic. The researchers, from institutions including St George’s, University of London, Harvard University, University of Manchester and Imperial College London, discuss the impact of racism and discrimination as root causes of health inequalities and increases in mortality and morbidity.

The researchers pose that structural racism – policies and processes embedded in society, which disadvantage ethnic minorities – has the most damaging effect on health out of all forms of racism. Data from the first wave of the pandemic showed that ethnic minorities are up to twice as likely to die from Covid-19**, a pattern also reflected in higher diagnosis rates, hospitalisations and admission to intensive care units. The analysis explores the possible societal causes of these trends.

One consideration is the impact of residential segregation, with Bangladeshi and Pakistani people more likely to live in deprived neighbourhoods in the UK than white British people***. Residential segregation, a form of structural racism which is on the increase in Europe, has previously been shown to have a negative impact on health in the US****. The paper explains that living in poorer areas, combined with lower socioeconomic status, high risk occupations and higher burden of chronic diseases, leads to poorer health outcomes.

The paper adds that cultural racism, stemming from stereotypes, has also been shown to have detrimental effects on health, as a result of unconscious biases. These biases, sometimes held by healthcare workers, can affect patient interactions with physicians, leading to poorer quality communication during consultations or treatment.

Self-reported discrimination has also been associated with diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and breast cancer as well as poor mental health, poor health behaviours, and lower use of healthcare services and adherence to medical regimens.

Exposure to discrimination over time, known as weathering, the paper explains, has been shown to lead to psychosocial, physical and chemical stressors that accelerate biological ageing. This may be having a direct impact on health, exacerbating the effects of the current pandemic.

With health inequalities worst among ethnic minority groups with higher rates of deprivation, the researchers recommend interventions to reduce the adverse impacts of Covid-19. Their recommendations include:

• Recognition of racism in its various forms as a major driver of ill health among ethnic minority groups, and a need for governments and public health bodies to provide leadership on tackling institutional racism with a clear vision and accountability.
• Funding, developing, and implementing programmes for prevention and education on Covid-19 in partnership with ethnic minority communities.
• Including ethnic minority groups in the extremely vulnerable category for Covid-19.
• Building on institutional practices to develop comprehensive occupational risk assessment tools that can be used to reduce the risk of employees’ exposure to Covid-19, which are legally binding.
• Where risk of exposure is high, supporting employees through flexible work environments such as non-public facing roles and redeploying them away from Covid-19 areas wherever possible.
• Accelerating health promotion and disease prevention programmes for non-communicable diseases, including promoting healthy lifestyles and effective management of chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, which disproportionately affect ethnic minority groups and are associated with more severe Covid-19 disease.

The researchers also describe the impact of Covid-19 on healthcare workers. Black and Asian staff represent 21% of the NHS workforce, but accounted for 63% of deaths among health and social care workers during the first wave of the pandemic. The paper suggests that strengthening and supporting programmes that have increased ethnic minority participation in higher education and senior roles could help to reduce discrimination, preventing adverse outcomes in future.

Dr Mohammad Razai, first author on the paper, from St George’s, University of London, said: “The pandemic cannot be considered in isolation. The impacts of racism and discrimination on health are well established and measures must be taken to address the root causes of these disparities. At the same time, we need to urgently protect ethnic groups most at risk of adverse outcomes from Covid-19.

“Our paper shows the weight of evidence and historical trends demonstrating poorer outcomes for ethnic minority patients. The effects of racism, in particular systemic racism, are still not widely recognised and must be acknowledged by both healthcare professionals and policymakers so that more can be done to redress the balance and reduce these inequalities.”

Professor David R Williams, a co-author from Harvard University said: “Covid-19 has powerfully illustrated that racism is a societal pathogen that is spreading disease and death on a grand scale. This paper describes the multiple pathways by which racism adversely affects health, and calls for a renewed commitment to dismantling all of the structures of racism so that everyone can experience all of the opportunities promised by our society.”

Professor Aneez Esmail, a co-author from the University of Manchester, said: “Ten months into the pandemic we know that Covid-19 has exposed the terrible inequalities in society. We are not in this together as many politicians have tried to claim. Ethnic minorities, including ethnic minority healthcare staff, in the rich countries of Europe and North America have been disproportionately affected by the impact of Covid-19, whether it is because of increased death rates or the significant morbidity that patients suffer as a result of the infection.

“We don’t need more research to find out why. What we need is concerted action from governments and national health systems to deal with the impact of this disease on ethnic minority communities. We have already identified evidence-based interventions, which if implemented, could help in reducing these inequalities. The time to act is now.”

The portrait of , who is Professor Mental Health and Inclusivity, will appear in Portraits of UK Black Female Professors in the unique free outdoor exhibition.

Commissioned and curated by Dr Nicola Rollock, and photographed by Bill Knight, it features portraits of 45 professors, current and Emerita, across a broad range of subjects including law, medicine, creative writing and sociology.

The exhibition runs from 10 October - 8 November 2020, timed to coincide with Black History Month, and is presented along the Southbank Centre’s popular public riverside promenade The Queen’s Walk.

The exhibition is based on the work of Dr Rollock who researched the experiences of Black female professors at UK universities over the past three years.

The portraits were taken by photographer Bill Knight, who travelled across England, Scotland and Wales to capture the images.

Professor Edge said: “As The University of Manchester’s first and currently only Black woman Professor, I’m especially honoured to be featured in this excellent exhibition.

“I wanted to take part because I want my role to inspire greater diversity in academia in general and at Russell Group universities in particular as there are just a handful of of us at the moment and that really needs to change.”

Dr Rollock’s 2019 research showed the barriers faced by Black women as they worked to navigate their way through Higher Education and the strategies they used to help them reach professorship.

According to the among 21,000 academic staff at professorial level, only 140 identify as black.

But according to Dr Rollock’s , in 2019 there were just 25 Black women professors- or just 0.12% of the total.

This means that Black women are three times less likely to be professors than their White female counterparts and half as likely as Black men.

The ‘Phenomenal Women’ portraits and the respective professors’ biographies are now being presented outdoors, in a series of weatherproof structures specially designed with social distancing guidelines in mind.

Dr Rollock said: “I am thrilled to be working with the Southbank Centre on this exhibition. As one of London's leading Arts' venues, it is a fitting space in which to help draw attention to just how few Black female professors there are in the UK and to highlight their achievements.”

The University is strongly committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and has zero tolerance to any forms of harassment and discrimination.

We understand that many of our staff, students and alumni feel shocked and disturbed by the killing of George Floyd and subsequent events in the United States. These events show how deep and appalling the problem of racial inequality and discrimination continues to be in society. We understand and share the horror that many staff, students and alumni feel about recent events.

We assure you that the University takes pride in our diverse community and our place in this very diverse city. We are committed to our support to equality, diversity and inclusion. Our diverse and tolerant community is one of Manchester’s strengths.

Nonetheless we are not complacent. No one should ever feel discriminated against at The University of Manchester. We monitor our policies and processes to prevent systemic racism and act where we see evidence of bias. We have a  mechanism in place where our community is able to raise issues.

Our people and values are central to our University, and we are categorically clear that we will never accept discrimination in any form. Our Students’ Union and our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team provide education and support our staff and students to take positive action.

We are here to support anyone who has been affected by discrimination and our and are available to all staff and students.

Our purpose as a University is to benefit society, and through our teaching, research and social responsibility work, we have, and will continue to address discrimination and work to eradicate it.

Professor Nalin Thakkar

Vice-President for Social Responsibility

Discrimination of minority groups is likely to be associated with an increased risk of psychosis, according to a systematic review by University of Manchester and Lancaster psychologists.

The review suggests that people perceiving discrimination on the basis of race, age, religion, sexuality or gender orientation are more likely to experience hearing voices, paranoia as well as common problems such as anxiety and low mood.

The team examined the evidence from 24 studies published in scientific journals, which overall showed that discrimination is linked to the presence and severity of psychotic experiences in both patients and non-patients who were otherwise well.

They also found evidence showing that the more discrimination people experienced, the greater the risk of having psychotic experiences became.

Though they showed an association between discrimination and psychosis, the team do not rule out the possibility that there may also be some causal factors.

The study is published in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology

Lead author Dr Filippo Varese from The University of Manchester said: “Clearly, social rejection, the perception of being singled out and victimisation can have a negative impact on anyone.

“But it can also increase the likelihood of experiences that are commonly regarded as symptoms of severe mental health difficulties, such as paranoia and hearing voices”

According to Dr Varese, perceived discrimination - from the point of view of the individual –allowed the team to understand the complex circumstances that lead to mental health problems.

He said: “Once we tackle discrimination more fundamentally – then wider benefits will follow – though we clearly have a long way to go as a society before that can be achieved.

“But that should not preclude clinicians from exploring the impact of discrimination on their therapeutic practice. There is a great need for doctors and psychologists to understand the role discrimination has played on individuals’ lives.

“Screenings for various form of psychological trauma, such as various types of childhood maltreatment and neglect, by GPs and other health practitioners is routine in parts of the North America and other countries

“It’s a way of signposting specialist support and ensuring that we can better prevent and treat physical and mental health problems that are brought about by these adverse experiences.

“We think the UK should be no different, and there are important national initiatives moving in that direction.”

He added: “Psychosis is often thought to be a genetic condition but this review and other important work published in recent years shows that the environment we live in is also crucial.

“People can understandably become guarded and suspicious of others when they are constantly exposed to threatening social environments where they are likely to be discriminated or victimised. These feelings over time lead to more distressing ‘paranoid beliefs’, for example.

“And biologically, we know that discrimination - and experiences of severe or chronic stress in general - impacts on the human brain.

“For example, these experiences can result in the areas of the brain involved in the management of stress to be become over sensitised and that can make us more vulnerable to a range of mental health problems, including psychosis.”