New report calls for action on ethnic diversity in higher education leadership
A new report warns that ethnically minoritised staff remain significantly underrepresented in senior professional services roles across UK universities – and calls for systemic change.
By Helen Breese | Published on 5 December 2025
Categories: Press office; Research; Nottingham Business School;
The sector-wide research, called for and funded by the Association of Heads of University Administration (AHUA) and led by a diverse team at Nottingham Trent University, included interviews, focus groups, and institutional data.
It reveals stark barriers to progression for staff of colour, including unclear promotion processes and lack of sponsorship.
Key findings show that ethnically minoritised staff are disproportionately concentrated in lower-grade roles and progress to senior leadership positions falters. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives can be performative, failing to drive meaningful change. In addition, structural and cultural barriers persist and are exacerbated by intersectional factors such as gender, class, and disability.
Participants reported experiences ranging from microaggressions and tokenism to systemic exclusion, with some describing the emotional toll of “masking” and “code-switching” to fit dominant norms.
The report argues that this lack of diversity undermines universities’ ability to deliver on their mission of social mobility and innovation, and makes a number of recommendations for change.
Institutions must ensure that charter commitments translate into tangible improvements in recruitment, progression, and workplace culture, rather than remaining symbolic gestures.
Key priorities include structural reform through transparent career pathways, equitable promotion processes, and clear accountability for EDI compliance. Representation must be strengthened via targeted development, sponsorship, and succession planning to increase diversity at senior levels.
Cultural change is essential, moving beyond tick-box compliance toward authentic engagement and challenging entrenched assumptions about professionalism and leadership. Finally, sector-wide collaboration - coordinating efforts across bodies such as Advance HE, AHUA, UHR, and WHEN - will help amplify impact and drive meaningful progress.
Dr Louise Oldridge, lead researcher and Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management at Nottingham Business School, part of NTU, said: “While academic diversity has received attention through initiatives such as Athena Swan, professional services staff have been largely overlooked.
“The Race Equality Charter provides a useful framework for addressing racial inequalities in higher education, but our report stresses that its value lies in driving real change, not simply achieving accreditation. Institutions must ensure that charter commitments translate into tangible improvements in recruitment, progression, and workplace culture, rather than remaining symbolic gestures.”
Andrew Young, AHUA member and Chief Operating Officer and Director of Administration, London School of Economics and Political Science, said: “Universities cannot afford to treat diversity as a peripheral issue. Homogeneous leadership teams risk perpetuating blind spots and undermining institutional resilience. This report offers a roadmap for meaningful change - but it requires commitment, resources, and the courage to challenge entrenched norms.”
AHUA, representing senior university managers across the UK and Ireland, is now calling on institutions to translate these recommendations into measurable action plans.
Read the full report: https://doi.org/10.17631/rd-2025-0023-drep.
Oldridge, L , Ridgway, M , Dahill, D , Gee, R , Nachmias, S , Olotu-Umoren, L, Pswarayi, J , Smith, S , Selby-Shaw, N and Garrett, R, (2025). Research report into career barriers and enablers for ethnically minoritised senior professional services roles in UK Higher Education. Nottingham: Nottingham Trent University.
Notes for Editors
Press enquiries please contact Helen Breese, Public Relations and Research Communications Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8751, or via email.
About Association of the Heads of University Administration (AHUA)
Founded in the 1960s, the Association of Heads of University Administration is the representative body for senior University managers (Registrars, Chief Operating Officers, Heads of Administration) in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with Associate Members in other countries.
The AHUA has 134 member institutions and 230 member representatives and is managed by an elected Executive Committee.
The AHUA aims to represent the collective views of members on key issues and policies to the higher education (HE) sector, government and other stakeholders. It also brings together members to exchange information, share knowledge and experience, and to develop colleagues who aim to fill senior roles in HE administration.
National sponsor is Shakespeare Martineau.
About Nottingham Business School at Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Business School (NBS) at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a leader in experiential learning and personalisation of business, management and economics education and research, combining academic excellence with positive impact on people, business and society. NBS has an unrivalled level of engagement with business, public and voluntary organisations. With more than 8,500 students, NBS is also one of UK’s largest business schools.
NBS is triple crown accredited by EQUIS, AACSB, and AMBA, placing it amongst the top 1% of business schools globally. NBS is also accredited by Small Business Charter, providing support and development for SMEs, and is a PRME Champion - held up as an exemplar and beacon by the United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education (PRME).
In The Guardian University Guide 2026, all NBS courses were ranked in the UK Top 20. Subject areas covering Accounting and Finance, Business and Management, Economics and Marketing and PR were all recognised for excellence in teaching, high student satisfaction and strong graduate career prospects.
About Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has been named UK ‘University of the Year’ five times in six years, (Times Higher Education Awards 2017, The Guardian University Awards 2019, The Times and Sunday Times 2018 and 2023, Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023) and is consistently one of the top performing modern universities in the UK.
Students have voted us the best university in the UK and 1st in the UK for student employability (Uni Compare 2025).
NTU is 4th in the UK for number of undergraduate students (HESA 2023-24) with over 36,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across six campuses. It has an international student population of 6,000 and an NTU community representing over 160 countries.
NTU owns two Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for outstanding achievements in research (2015, 2021). The first recognises NTU’s research on the safety and security of global citizens. The second was awarded for research in science, engineering, arts and humanities to investigate and restore cultural objects, buildings and heritage. The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent.
NTU was awarded GOLD in the national 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessment.
NTU is a top 10 for sport (British Universities and Colleges Sport league table 2025) and was named as Sports University of the Year (Daily Mail University Guide 2025). It has also been ranked as 25th in the UK by the Guardian University Guide 2026.
NTU is a holder of the University Mental Health Charter recognising the commitment an institution has shown towards continuous improvement in the area of mental health and wellbeing.
NTU is the most environmentally sustainable university in the UK and second in the world (UI Green Metric University World Rankings, 2024).