“How can I become something I can’t see?” (Sadiq, 2023). Asif Sadiq raises a crucial point in the conversation around diversity, equity, and inclusion: current efforts often fail to deliver the transformative change we claim to want. DEI training is frequently limited by the very biases it seeks to challenge, sometimes reinforcing assumptions rather than dismantling them, particularly within institutions. As Sara Ahmed argues, when diversity is institutionalised, it can become performative, rather than make meaningful change. Sadiq offers a powerful reminder that representation matters, and education must go beyond superficial inclusion to foster genuine transformation.
When reflecting on my own teaching practice, I am acutely aware of how my identity shapes the classroom dynamic. On first encounter, students will see that I am a white woman, and although I have mixed European heritage, this is not immediately obvious as I speak with a British accent that lacks strong regional markers and is often associated with the English middle class. These external indicators impact how I am perceived. I am in my early 30s, I don’t have a visible disability, and I hold a permanent part time contract in a prestigious university. These aspects of my identity further add to the unearned privileges that I hold, as demonstrated in the Channel 4 ‘power walk’ video included in the unit resources. At the same time, I exist at the intersection of multiple identities. As a woman and particularly as a woman with a long-term health condition, I have also experienced violence, marginalisation and socio-economic precarity. Yet these aspects of identity are often obscured in institutional spaces. However, the privilege of ‘being able to live without the consequences of racism’ (Channel 4, 2020) is real and although I deeply disagree with the way in which power operates within society and education settings, I am directly privileged by these structures as a white person.
From a pedagogical standpoint, I’ve become increasingly conscious of my own positionality. This intersection of privilege and marginalisation informs how I am received, and it impacts the dynamics of trust, engagement, and learning within the room. My work as an artist practitioner is led by anti-racist and community-engaged creative practices. This has taught me that positionality is dynamic, and learning is ongoing. I try to bring this work into my teaching context too. As educators, we are asked to humanise our practice while working within institutional structures that are often dehumanising. Structures which, as Ramadan (2021) and Garrett (2024) point out, keep racialised academics at the bottom of hierarchies through precarious employment and limited progression. A clear example of this is at a recent CSM staff away day. The event was held at The Art Worker’s Guild, in a room filled wall to wall with portraits of white men. This symbolised the institutional dissonance: colleagues discussing Black Studies in that space was not just ironic, it was illustrative of institutional blindness.
As Sadiq notes, students learn in different ways, influenced by their backgrounds and cultural knowledge. I teach a cohort where over 77% of the students are Asian. Many of my students come with geopolitical contexts that are often absent from UK-based DEI training. One Taiwanese student shared their frustration with being identified as Chinese in the UK and was rightly critical of the lack of awareness within the university around why this is important. Two Chinese students reflected on experiencing racism for the first time after arriving in the UK, which was very different to the experience of a student in the class who is Black British. These specificities matter. One-size-fits-all training does not work, and true inclusion requires cultural and historical awareness tailored to each context.
We cannot pretend universities are neutral spaces. I was frustrated by the Telegraph film. Firstly it is inherently biased as it’s created by a right-wing news outlet. It’s critique of Advance HE frames inclusion work as ideological, but ignoring racism is ideological too. Academic excellence and anti-racism are not mutually exclusive. We must equip students to articulate positionality, challenge systemic barriers, and participate in meaningful exchange and change. As noted in Bradbury: “Frequently, these are policies which appear ‘colourblind’ or neutral and meritocratic, but work to systematically disadvantage minoritised groups”.
To transform this, I co-developed student centred DEI training with Tas Emiabata that focused on contextual specificity, connecting anti-racist work to the colonial histories and lived realities of the students in the room. This isn’t a perfect solution, but it’s a sustainable starting point. I’ve also integrated student-led seminars into my module design, aiming to decentralise authority and foster collaborative dialogue, while being transparent about my own privileges and limitations. As educators, we hold both responsibility and power, but structural support is essential for lasting transformation. It must contend with power, complexity, and contradiction, within the world and within each of us.
References
Ahmed, S. (2012) On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life. Durham and London: Duke University Press.
Bradbury, A., 2020. A critical race theory framework for education policy analysis: The case of bilingual learners and assessment policy in England. Race Ethnicity and Education, 23(2), pp.241-260.
Channel 4. (2020) The School That Tried to End Racism. [Online]. Youtube. 30 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I3wJ7pJUjg
Garrett, R. (2024). Racism shapes careers: career trajectories and imagined futures of racialised minority PhDs in UK higher education. Globalisation, Societies and Education, pp.1–15.
Orr, J. (2022) Revealed: The charity turning UK universities woke. The Telegraph [Online]. Youtube. 5 August. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRM6vOPTjuU
Ramadan, I. (2021) ‘When faith intersects with gender: the challenges and successes in the experiences of Muslim women academics’, Gender and Education 34(1), p. 33-48
Sadiq, A. (2023) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Learning how to get it right. TEDx [Online}. Youtube. 2 March. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4wz1b54hw
UAL (2021) Anti-Racism Action Plan. [Online] Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0032/296537/UAL-Anti-racism-action-plan-summary-2021.pdf
Leave a Reply