UK's only black Chemistry professor 'saddened' after report finds racism 'deeply rooted' in academia

'We need to talk about and address racism, discrimination and inequality in the chemical sciences', Professor Robert Mokaya tells ITV News Central

The UK's only black Chemistry professor has told ITV News Central he is saddened by a report which confirms racism, discrimination and ethnic inequalities are deeply rooted in the academic world.

Prof Robert Mokaya, who is based in Nottingham, believes he has been consistently denied research funding because of his race.

He says is one of the country's most accomplished experts in Material Chemistry but out of 575 Chemistry professors across the UK he is the only one who is black.

As a champion for diversity, the Royal Society of Chemistry commissioned a report called Missing Elements which looked into racial and ethnic inequalities, and to press for action to end this discrimination. 

The report found chemists from a black and ethnic minority background still face systemic barriers such as difficulty accessing funding, poorer pay, and fewer career progression opportunities.

Professor Mokaya's experiences echo this. He tells ITV Central: "I could see that some of my peers, who were the same research profile, were able to get grants, and so I did get to a point where I felt, there's something unusual about either my research applications, or where they are coming from."

"I have been able to get research grants from other places, and so I have been able to do research, and one can argue that, because of my research profile, really I should have been able to get those grants."

What did the report say?

The report was published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, and said "exclusion and marginalisation are to a large extent normalised for many black chemists and others from minoritised ethnic backgrounds."

It found that chemists from black and ethnic minority backgrounds are often paid on average £6,000 less than their white counterparts.

The report finds that UK academia is losing black chemists after undergraduate level at an alarming rate, underlining an urgent need to nurture and retain diverse talent.

It also said its findings "paint a stark picture of how pervasive racial and ethnic inequalities are within the chemical sciences community."

Along with his Chemistry teaching and research, Robert Mokaya is also Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Nottingham. He says that the pervasive racism in the sector isn't just harming him - it's harming the field itself.

"We need to be better", says Robert Mokaya

"The chemical sciences specifically are much poorer if it excludes any section of the community," he said.

"I think we need to be better, we need to do better, and chemistry and STEM need to be better in terms of being inclusive and diverse."

The report published by the Royal Society of Chemistry has come up with an action plan for tackling racism within the field, with Chief Executive Dr Helen Pain writing in a foreword,

"We need to talk about and address racism, discrimination and inequality in the chemical sciences.

"We can – and must – make progress toward becoming a truly inclusive community, where everybody can fulfil their potential.

"We cannot make this change alone and we must work with partners inside and outside of science, sharing what we learn, highlighting barriers that threaten progress, finding ways to overcome them and sharing across the whole science community." 

The society has already established a £1.5million unit to tackle discrimination and a mentoring scheme.