Racism and Sexism in
Academic Philosophy -
University of Nottingham
Racism in Academic Philosophy in Canada, England, and the USA
Sexism in Academic Philosophy in Canada, England, and USA
By: Shawn Alli
Posted: May 9, 2016
*All individuals and organizations receive 7 full days of pre-publication notice (11 including weekends).
*I ask for a request for comment from the philosophy department instead of the university spokesperson because it's the philosophy department (philosophers) that are racist or sexist.
*I round up to one decimal place for all figures.
In a request for comment I ask them:
1. Do you believe that 2/16 women in full professor positions represents sexism in the University of Nottingham philosophy department?
2. Do you believe that 1/16 visible minorities in full professor positions represents racism in the University of Nottingham philosophy department?
University of Nottingham Humanities Manager Alyson Heery is kind enough to respond:
The University of Nottingham is committed to equality of opportunity and values the diversity of our workforce. The UoN was an early subscriber to the principles of the Athena Swan Charter. We are currently a Silver Award holder which is reflective of our ongoing commitment to facilitate gender equality across the University. The Equality Challenge Unit have recently extended the Athena Swan Charter to include non-STEMM subjects (including Philosophy) as well as STEMM subjects. We have welcomed this development, reflecting our commitment to identifying ways to improve the representation of women at professor level across all of our Faculties and Schools.
We recognise the wider challenges of the HE sector in achieving a representative gender and ethnic balance across all levels and disciplines and that the UoN experiences challenges which are reflective of the wider sector in that regard. We are continuously working to identify and remove any potential barriers to equality, diversity and inclusion, and to supporting the career pipeline of academics and other staff from all protected groups.
This is more of a bureaucratic response.
If less than 13% of women in tenure-track positions represent a Silver Award, clearly this award has no value.
And removing potential barriers to equality is bureaucratic jargon for it's not our fault. It's the system's fault. Again, I call garbage on that. The problem is ideology. You can't easily remove the ideology of sexism and racism from a person's mind (see Philosophy Reborn Part II: Social Humanities).