‘Pervasive’ inequality derailing black UK chemists’ careers, report finds

MPs were told only a ‘tiny’ number of research grants in science and technology were going to black academics. Photograph: Cultura Creative (RF)/Alamy

Black and minority ethnic chemists face “pervasive” inequalities that restrict their access to research funding and derail their academic careers, according to a new report by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The report found that while black students were well represented at undergraduate level, very few were able to develop academic careers, with only one black professor of chemistry of the 575 professors working in UK universities.