The career prospects of migrant, female academics from minority ethnic backgrounds in the UK’s higher education sector: an integrative review of peer-reviewed literature

Figures & data

Figure 1. PRISMA flow.

Figure 2. Intersections between principal articles.

Table 1. Academic staff by professional category, gender, and BAME/White identity (developed from table 5.7 Advance HE “Equality and higher education staff statistical report” 2022).

	Professor			Non-Professor			All
All staff [N = 203,620]	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
White	64%	26%	89%	40%	41%	81%	43%	39%	82%
Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME)	8%	3%	11%	10%	8%	19%	10%	8%	18%
All staff	72%	28%	100%	51%	49%	100%	53%	47%	100%
	Professor			Non-Professor			All
UK nationals [N = 140,405]	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
White	65%	26%	91%	44%	44%	89%	46%	42%	89%
Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME)	7%	2%	9%	6%	6%	11%	6%	5%	11%
All staff	72%	28%	100%	50%	50%	100%	52%	48%	100%
	Professor			Non-Professor			All
Non-UK nationals [N = 63,210]	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
White	60%	25%	84%	32%	33%	65%	34%	33%	67%
Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME)	12%	4%	16%	20%	14%	35%	20%	13%	33%
All staff	72%	28%	100%	52%	48%	100%	54%	46%	100%

‘NB Figures may not sum due to rounding’

Table 2. Academic staff by professional category and BAME/White identity (developed from table 3.20 Advance HE “Equality and higher education staff statistical report” 2022).

	UK Nationals			Non-UK
	Non-Professors	Professors	Ratio	Non-Professors	Professors	Ratio
White	88.6	90.7	1.0:1	65.3	84.5	0.8:1
BAME total	11.4	9.3	1.2:1	34.7	15.5	2.2:1
Asian	4.6	3.8	1.2:1	12.6	6.0	2.1:1
Black	1.9	0.3	6.3:1	3.7	1.1	3.4:1
Chinese	1.4	2.2	0.6:1	9.9	4.6	2.2:1
Mixed	2.1	1.5	1.4:1	3.6	1.2	3.0:1
Other	1.4	1.3	1.1:1	5.0	2.6	1.9:1

Table 3. UK/non-UK academics, by contract type and gender/ethnicity (developed from tables 3.5 and 4.5, Advance HE “Equality and higher education staff statistical report” 2022).

		Open-ended/permanent	Fixed term
UK	White	72.8	27.2
	BAME	68.6	31.4
	All	72.3	27.7
Non-UK nationals	White	62.8	37.2
	BAME	50.0	50.0
	All	58.5	41.5
		Open-ended/permanent	Fixed term
All	Male	75.7	24.3
	Female	73.4	26.6
	All	74.8	25.2

Table 4. The principle causes of under-representation and approaches to addressing them.

Level	Causes of under-representation	Approaches to addressing under-representation/ promoting greater access
Sectoral and societal	Patriarchy Racism Xenophobia	Regulatory standards specifically tailored for the education sector. Actions to promote a more “inclusive” idea of what constitutes success.
Institutional/ Organisational	Patriarchy Racism Xenophobia Metaphoric ceilings: glass, ivory, and concrete Organisational culture (toxic environment)	Strategies and actions to address barriers at recruitment and promotion Clearer and more consistent policies for promotion Showcase role models who have progressed to senior leadership Leaders’ commitment to promote equality
Personal and Interpersonal	Patriarchy Racism Xenophobia Metaphoric ceilings: glass, ivory, and concrete Organisational culture (toxic environment) Social ostracisation and exclusion Personal agency	Notion of being a “double stranger” “Foreignness” as an asset Personal attributes Commitment and hard work Mobility as a means of “demonstrating commitment” Resilience and strength

Table

Category	Authors	Year	Primary focus	Evidence base
1.C	Johansson, M., & Śliwa, M.	2014	Impact of gender and foreignness on the experience of women in UK business schools.	Narrative interviews with 31 foreign women academics, primarily at lecturer/senior lecturer grade, in UK business schools.
2.C	Sang, K., Al-Dajani, H., & Özbilgin, M.	2013	Life stories of migrant women academics and their experiences of career progression.	Interviews with nine non-British female professors in UK business schools.
1.E	Allen, K.-A., Butler-Henderson, K., Reupert, A., Longmuir, F., & Finefter-Rosenbluh, I.	2021	Examination of gender equity across the major career benchmarks in the academy in light of the impact of personal context.	Critical review of international literature.
2.E	Bhopal, K. & Henderson, H.	2021	Exploration of women’s experiences in higher education, with a particular focus on differences in career trajectories experienced by Black and White women.	Case study of one university in the UK, based on 32 interviews with academic and administrative staff.
3.E	Chance, N. L.	2022	Phenomenological study into how Black women in HE leadership navigate the adverse challenges faced.	Interviews with nine Black female academics in senior leadership positions in US universities.
4.E	Durodoye, R., Gumpertz, M., Wilson, A., Griffith, E., & Ahmad, S.	2020	Risk of female faculty of colour leaving without tenure and years to promotion from associate to full professor at four large grant universities in the US.	Statistical analysis of personnel data from four large land grant universities in the US.
5.E	Gheorghiu, E., & Stephens, C. S.	2016	How different types of acculturation strategies affect immigrant academics’ perceptions of conflict in the workplace.	Online survey of international faculty employed at various universities in the US [n = 241].
6.E	Ghosh, D., & Barber, K.	2021	Exploration of how tokenism impacts foreign-born academics in US universities.	Interviews with 33 immigrant women faculty in US universities.
7.E	Hoque, S., Baker, E. H., & Milner, A.	2021	Disparities in representation of Racially Minoritised persons and women in leadership roles in London Medical Schools in relation to their colleagues and the female student population.	Analysis of General Medical School annual returns and official leadership team webpages.
8.E	Manfredi, S.	2017	Advocation of the need for positive action in recruitment and promotion to tackle women’s under-representation in senior leadership roles in UK universities.	Think piece.
9.E	Morley, L., & Crossouard, B.	2016	Exploration of women’s absence from senior leadership positions in higher education in South Asia.	Interviews with 30 academics in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
10.E	Rollock, N.	2021	Examination of the career expectations of Black female professors in UK universities.	Interviews with 20 Black female professors.
11.E	Stockfelt, S.	2018	Investigation into the marginalisation of Black female academics in the UK academy.	Narrative inquiry of eight Black female academics.
12.E	Sang, K. & Calvard, T. 2019	2019	Experiences of migrant academics in Australia and New Zealand to understand impact of gender and ethnicity on their experience (NB including “ex-pats’ from the UK).	Interviews with 30 migrant academics in Australia/New Zealand.

Advance HE. (2022) Equality and Higher Education Staff statistical report 2021. https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/equality-higher-education-statistical-report-2021

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