Under the Equality Act 2010, race refers to an individual’s colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins.
Race at LSE
LSE aims to identify and self-reflect on institutional and cultural barriers standing in the way of minority ethnic staff and students through LSE's Race Equity Framework. LSE will develop clear initiatives and actions through self-reflection.
LSE is committed to the 5 fundamental guiding principles:
Racial inequalities are a significant issue within higher education.
- Racial inequalities are not necessarily overt, isolated incidents. Racism is an everyday facet of UK society and racial inequalities manifest themselves in everyday situations, processes and behaviours.
- UK higher education cannot reach its full potential unless it can benefit from the talents of the whole population and until individuals from all ethnic backgrounds can benefit equally from the opportunities it affords.
- In developing solutions to racial inequalities, it is important that they are aimed at achieving long-term institutional culture change, avoiding a deficit model where solutions are aimed at changing the individual.
- Minority ethnic staff and students are not a homogenous group. People from different ethnic backgrounds have different experiences of and outcomes from/within higher education, and that complexity needs to be considered in analysing data and developing actions.
- All individuals have multiple identities, and the intersection of those different identities should be considered wherever possible.
EMBRACE (Ethnic Minorities Broadening Racial Awareness & Cultural Exchange)
EMBRACE is the School's black and minority ethnic (BME) staff network.
Email: embrace@lse.ac.uk Web: EmbRace
LSE Students’ Union (LSESU)
The LSESU Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Students’ Officer works to reduce and address the institutional, personal and other barriers that BME students face due to their ethnicity.
Email: su.bme@lse.ac.uk
Equality Act 2010, Section 9: Race
If you would like to know more about the legal definition of the protected characteristic of 'race', please see the following text from section 6 of the Equality Act 2010:
(1) Race includes—
(a) colour;
(b) nationality;
(c) ethnic or national origins.
(2) In relation to the protected characteristic of race—
(a) a reference to a person who has a particular protected characteristic is a reference to a person of a particular racial group;
(b) a reference to persons who share a protected characteristic is a reference to persons of the same racial group.
(3) A racial group is a group of persons defined by reference to race; and a reference to a person's racial group is a reference to a racial group into which the person falls.
(4) The fact that a racial group comprises two or more distinct racial groups does not prevent it from constituting a particular racial group.
(5) A Minister of the Crown...—
(a) [must by order] amend this section so as to provide for caste to be an aspect of race;
(b) [must by order] amend this Act so as to provide for an exception to a provision of this Act to apply, or not to apply, to caste or to apply, or not to apply, to caste in specified circumstances.
(6) The power under section 207(4)(b), in its application to subsection (5), includes power to amend this Act.