ANTI-RACISM PRINCIPLES
FOR IRISH HIGHER
EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Race
Equality
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1.1 Background
In recent decades our universities, technological universities, institutes of technology, and colleges
have been transformed, from predominantly national institutions catering primarily for school-
leavers, to internationally oriented institutions engaged with an increasingly diverse student and
sta body, of all ages and backgrounds. Along with this change, ethnic diversity in our student and
sta population has become a key strength of Irish higher education, which we must build on and
protect.
In this context, the HEA conducted a national online survey of HEI sta to develop a picture of race
equality across the Irish HE sector during December 2020 and January 2021. All sta working in
publicly funded HEIs were invited to participate and the results of this survey were included in a
report commissioned by the HEA, Race Equality in the Higher Education Sector (the ‘Race Equality
Report’ hereaer). The report, which was authored by independent experts, Dr Marta Kempny and
Dr Lucy Michael, contained 32 recommendations across 8 thematic areas. In response to these
recommendations the HEA published the HEA Race Equality Implementation Plan 2022-2024 in
September 2022. A key action in this implementation plan was the development of a
statement/charter on race equality for Irish HEIs.
1.2. Terminology
Definitions of terminology used throughout this document are included in the glossary in Appendix
1. For further information on terminology and language used in race equality work alongside other
terms commonly used in EDI work in higher education and research, please see the Equality,
Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) literary glossary developed by Advance HE in collaboration with an
expert group of academics, EDI practitioners and higher education sta.
For the purposes of this document, race equality is defined as equal representation, equal
experiences and equal outcomes of sta and students from minority ethnic groups including
Travellers, while race inequality is in turn defined as unequal representation, unequal experiences
and unequal outcomes of sta and students from minority ethnic groups including Travellers.
The Athena Swan Ireland Intersectionality Working Group, which advised on the development of
these Principles, acknowledged that ‘race’ is a contested term but stressed the importance of using
terms such as race or racism. Furthermore, the group advised that focusing on less charged terms
like ‘ethnicity’ and ‘nationality’, and omitting the term ‘race’, may serve to mask the existence of
racialization as a social fact and frustrate antiracist eorts to address and undo racism.
During the development of the HEA Race Equality Implementation Plan 2022-2024, the Athena
Swan Ireland Intersectionality Working Group recommended that “racism” be defined as
delineated by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth’s Anti-Racism
Committee in their Interim Report to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and
Youth on 30
th
November 2020. This document adopts that definition as follows:
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ANTI-RACISM PRINCIPLES FOR IRISH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
1 | Introduction
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“We understand racism to mean the power dynamics present in those
structural and institutional arrangements, practices, policies and cultural
norms, which have the eect of excluding or discriminating against
individuals or groups, based on their identity, as outlined in Article 1 of
the International Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(ICERD), which provides: ‘...the term “racial discrimination” shall mean
any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour,
descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or eect of
nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an
equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political,
economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.”
In line with the terminology used in broader government policy in relation to tackling racism and
race inequality, a decision has been made to frame this document as a set of “Anti-Racism
Principles for Irish HEIs”, rather than as a Charter/Statement on Race Equality. These Principles
will address the recommendations in the Race Equality Report, which call on HEI leadership to
actively embed a culture of race equality within HEIs by:
> taking responsibility, accountability and ownership of race equality issues at HEIs;
> actively acknowledging that race inequality exists in HEIs;
> acknowledging that Irish HEIs are not keeping pace with wider demographics and action
is required to catch up; and
> acknowledging the power of HEIs to influence Irish society in general.
1.3 Statutory Context
The HEA has a statutory responsibility to advance equality of opportunity, diversity and inclusion
in higher education. ‘Race’ is specified as one of the nine protected grounds under the Equal Status
Acts and, as such, the HEA and HEIs have obligations to address racism where it exists as part of
our obligations to uphold sta equality, in accordance with statutory equality and human rights
duties. Race has also been a protected characteristic in Irish equality legislation for two decades.
Under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Act 2014, all public HEIs must undertake assessment
and monitoring, and have policies and plans to promote equality, prevent discrimination and
protect the human rights of sta, students and the wider public that are served by the work of
HEIs. These Principles have been developed having regard to the relevant statutory obligations
placed on higher education institutions including:
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> Employment Equality Acts, 1998–2015;
> Equal Status Acts, 2000–2018;
> Equality Act, 2004;
> Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act, 2014 (including Public Sector Equality
and Human Rights Duty reporting requirements).
Another important reference point is the forthcoming National Action Plan Against Racism to be
published by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, which
contains actions assigned to the HEA and higher education sector.
1.4 Development of Principles
A dra version of these Principles was developed by the HEA Centre of Excellence for Equality,
Diversity and Inclusion in collaboration with the Athena Swan Ireland Intersectionality Working
Group between November 2022 and January 2023. A consultation period for stakeholder feedback
was open between 18th January 2023 and 10th February 2023. 12 submissions were received from
HEIs, HE representative bodies and individual stakeholders.
Where possible this feedback has been incorporated into the final Principles. A number of the
issues raised by stakeholders had already been debated at length by the Athena Swan Ireland
Intersectionality Working Group, who emphasized the need for high-level anti-racism principles
and the importance of these as a ground-breaking development at both a national and HEI level.
Working Group members also acknowledged that by taking a high-level focus there remains room
for context specific responses by HEIs as they move to further develop anti-racist policies and
action plans. Further discussion of stakeholder feedback and how it has been integrated into the
final document is included at appendix 2.
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As a higher education sector:
- we acknowledge that race inequality exists in Irish higher education institutions;
- we reject racial discrimination in all its forms;
- we take responsibility, accountability and ownership of race equality issues in Irish higher
education;
- we acknowledge that the progressive achievement of equality for sta from minority
ethnic groups including Travellers can only be realised through action;
- we acknowledge the need for greater ethnic diversity among students and sta to ensure
that HEIs are more representative of the ethnic diversity in Irish society; and
- we acknowledge that higher education institutions have a significant role to play in
promoting anti-racist policies and actions across broader Irish society.
1. Race inequality is an issue in Irish higher education. Racism, although context specific, is
a problem in Ireland and racial inequalities are present on a daily basis in our higher
education institutions.
2. Higher education institutions which allow race inequality to exist cannot perform to their
full potential.
3. Anti-racism policies and initiatives must focus on long-term culture change and on fixing
the system, not fixing the individual.
4. Racism is not always overt and can manifest itself in everyday interactions, processes,
behaviours, etc. (e.g. microaggressions).
5. Race inequalities are experienced dierently by people from similar and dierent ethnic
backgrounds.
6. The complex nature of the intersection of race inequality with other characteristics
protected under Irish equality legislation must be taken into account when developing
anti-racism actions and policies.
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ANTI-RACISM PRINCIPLES FOR IRISH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
2 | National Statement on Race Equality in Irish Higher
Education
3 | Anti-Racism Principles for Irish Higher Education
Institutions
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These commitments align with the policy recommendations under the Race Equality Report. The
commitments are phrased to acknowledge ongoing activities and to commit to future actions and
objectives which signatories will aspire to meet.
By signing up to the Anti-Racism Principles for Irish Higher Education Institutions, HEIs are
committing to the following:
1. We will embed a commitment to race equality as part of our institutional culture and
strategic priorities.
2. We will highlight the structural, institutional, and historical dimensions of racism which
have informed past and current practice in HEIs and the societies in which they are
situated.
3. We will educate our sta and students in relation to the structural, institutional, and
historical dimensions of racism, as well as the more commonly recognised individual
racism seen in acts of discrimination and abuse.
4. We will encourage an open dialogue on advancing Race Equality.
5. We will adopt an intersectional and intercultural approach when developing anti-racism
actions and policies.
6. We will address questions of race equality within the strategic plans of our institutions.
7. We will record student and sta data disaggregated by ethnicity to inform our anti-racism
policies and actions, and to monitor retention and career outcomes for students and sta
from minority ethnic groups including Travellers.
1
8. We will continue to ensure a fair and transparent recruitment process for all sta,
regardless of ethnicity.
9. We will address race equality issues in relation to progression and retention of students
and sta from minority ethnic groups including Travellers.
1
The HEA recognises the current limitations in the area of data collection and acknowledges the ongoing work
and support from HEIs in the collection of sta and student data and will continue to work with institutions to
ensure that this commitment can be met.
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ANTI-RACISM PRINCIPLES FOR IRISH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
4 | Commitments to Advance Race Equality in Irish Higher
Education
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For further information on terminology and language used in race equality work alongside other
terms commonly used in EDI work in higher education and research please see the Equality,
Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) literary glossary developed by Advance HE in collaboration with an
expert group of academics, EDI practitioners and higher education sta. A number of the definitions
below are drawn from this document.
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ANTI-RACISM PRINCIPLES FOR IRISH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Term Definition
Anti-racism Anti-racism is defined as the work of actively opposing racism by advocating for
changes in political, economic, and social life. Anti-racism includes individually
opposing overtly racist behaviours and collectively opposing institutional racism.
See: Racial Equity Tools, ‘Glossary’. (Taken from EDI Literary Glossary)
Ethnicity Ethnicity is a social construct that dierentiates people into smaller social groups
based on characteristics such as shared sense of group membership, values,
behavioural patterns, language, political and economic interests, history, and ancestral
geographical base. People can share the same nationality but be of dierent ethnic
groups and people who share an ethnic identity can be of dierent nationalities.
Examples of dierent ethnic groups, as used by the Central Statistics Oice, are: Asian
or Asian Irish: Chinese, Asian or Asian Irish: Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi, Asian or
Asian Irish: Any other Asian background, Black or Black Irish: African, Black or Black
Irish: Any other Black background, Other including mixed group/background: Arabic,
Other including mixed group/background: Mixed Background, Other including mixed
group/background: Other, White: Irish, White: Irish Traveller, White: Roma, White: Any
other White background
See: Racial Equity Tools, ‘Glossary’; M Adams, LA Bell and P Griin; Teaching for Diversity and
Social Justice: A Sourcebook. (2001); M Mamdani, Neither Settler nor Native: The Making and
Unmaking of Permanent Minorities, (2020). (Taken from EDI Literary Glossary)
See: Report on the public consultation on content of Census 2021 and the Census Pilot Survey 2018
Ethnic
Minority or
Minority
Ethnic
Group
An ethnic, religious or linguistic minority is any group of persons which constitutes less
than half of the population in the entire territory of a State whose members share
common characteristics of culture, religion or language, or a combination of any of
these. A person can freely belong to an ethnic, religious or linguistic minority without
any requirement of citizenship, residence, oicial recognition or any other status.
Following mainly the Human Rights Committee jurisprudence, additional elements as
to who is a member of a minority can be summarized as follows: Indigenous peoples
may constitute linguistic, religious or ethnic minorities in the States in which they find
themselves. Both are not mutually exclusive, nor undermine any applicable rights as a
minority or indigenous people. The “territory” to consider in determining whether or
not a group is a linguistic, religious or ethnic minority is the entire territory of a State,
and not one of its political or territorial subunits; One of the main objective criteria for
determining whether a group is a minority in a State is a numerical one. A minority in
the territory of a State means it is not the majority. Objectively, that means that an
ethnic, religious or linguistic group makes up less than half the population of a country.
See: Concept of a minority: mandate definition - Special Rapporteur on minority issues by the
United Nations Human Rights Oice of the High Commissioner
Appendix 1 | Glossary of Terms
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ANTI-RACISM PRINCIPLES FOR IRISH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Term Definition
Intersectionality Intersectionality is the understanding that social inequalities are not just
summative, they are mutually constituting. The term was coined by Professor
Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 to describe how individual characteristics (e.g. race,
class, gender) characteristics “intersect” with one another and overlap. The term
was originally used by Crenshaw to describe the experience of Black women.
That is, that the disadvantage experienced by a Black woman is compounded by
the inequalities she faces as a woman and as a Black person, and is distinct from
the experiences of a Black man or a white woman. Since then, the term has been
used in dierent ways, and distorted. Crenshaw referred to the term’s changing
use and meaning in an interview with TIME magazine in 2020 and, when asked
to define what intersectionality means today said: ‘Intersectionality is not
identity politics…it is a lens, a prism, for seeing the way in which various forms
of inequality oen operate together and exacerbate each other. We tend to talk
about race inequality as separate from inequality based on gender, class,
sexuality or immigrant status. What’s oen missing is how some people are
subject to all of these, and the experience is not just the sum of its parts’.
See: TIME Magazine, ‘Kimberlé Crenshaw and Intersectionality’; Global Society Theory,
‘Intersectionality’. (Taken from EDI Literary Glossary)
Institutional
Racism
Institutional Racismrefers to forms of racism expressed in thepracticeof social
and political institutions; to the way, institutions discriminate against certain
groups, whether intentionally or not, and to their failure to have in place policies
that prevent discrimination or discriminatory behaviour. It can be found in
processes, attitudes and behaviours which lead to discrimination through
unintentional prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness, unconscious bias and
racist stereotyping which disadvantages ethnic minority people. Institutional
racism relates to the entire institution, including people. Structural and
institutional racism create the conditions that make forms of individual racism
seem normal and acceptable, making discrimination and violence more likely.
See:
Dimensions of Racism
, Irish Network Against Racism
Microaggression The everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults,
whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory,
or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalised
group membership. Example: “Where are you really from?”
See: Racial Equity Tools, ‘Glossary’; D W Sue, ‘Microaggressions: More than Just Race’,
Psychology Today, (2010). (Taken from EDI Literary Glossary)
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ANTI-RACISM PRINCIPLES FOR IRISH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Term Definition
Race The term race has its roots in racial categorisation schemes that were promoted
by scientists to support worldviews that understood some groups of people as
superior and some as inferior. As such, race is a made-up social construct, and
not an actual biological fact. While race is a social construct, it is identified as
one of the nine equality grounds in The Equal Status Acts (2000-2018). The term
is also commonly used in equality work (e.g. race equity/race equality). These
uses do not imply the acceptance of theories that attempt to determine the
existence of separate human races. Rather, in this context, race is used to call
attention to the racialisation of particular groups, the prevalence and forms of
racism in society, and the need for anti-racist measures.
See: PBS, ‘Race: The Power of an Illusion’ (2003); INAR, ‘Race as a Social Construct’;
‘Oice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’; Racial Equity Tools,
‘Glossary’. (Taken from EDI Literary Glossary)
Race Equality Race equality is defined as equal representation, equal experiences and equal
outcomes of sta and students from minority ethnic groups.
Race Inequality Race inequality is defined as unequal representation, unequal experiences and
unequal outcomes of sta and students from minority ethnic groups.
Racism “We understand racism to mean the power dynamics present in those structural
and institutional arrangements, practices, policies and cultural norms, which
have the eect of excluding or discriminating against individuals or groups,
based on their identity, as outlined in Article 1 of the International Convention
for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), which provides: ‘...the term
“racial discrimination” shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or
preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has
the purpose or eect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or
exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the
political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.”
See: Interim Report of Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and
Youth’s Anti-Racism Committee to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability,
Integration and Youth on 30
th
November 2020.
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A number of stakeholders noted that the document could be seen as negatively framed. The
“Background” section of the document now includes commentary that recognises the positive
work and influence of HEIs in relation to race equality, as well as an acknowledgment of ethnic
and cultural diversity as one of the key strengths of Irish HE in recent years. However, the primary
principle underpinning race equality / anti-racism work is to acknowledge that race inequality and
racism exist and to fail to do so would undermine the level of commitment that the Irish HE sector
has to acknowledging and addressing these issues.
Much feedback discussed additions that referred to specific policy recommendations and were
quite granular in nature. It was considered that these would be more appropriate to an institutional
action plan or specific anti-racist educational programming. It should also be noted that wording
in the statement, principles and commitments aligns with the recommendations contained in the
Race Equality Report.
As with the previous point, there was a lot of feedback which was either theoretical or referred to
specific terminology being used. The document is not prescriptive and the meanings/language to
be used should be debated at local level when developing educational programming and anti-
racism policies and actions. Such debates can productively feed into future national policy
development. Furthermore, much of the language in this document is drawn from the Race
Equality Report, the Athena Swan EDI Literary Glossary and the Statement of the National Athena
Swan Intersectionality Working Group, in an eort to maintain consistency in national HE policy
in this area.
In previous consultations, advice from Traveller groups had been to refer to “minority ethnic
groups” only. However, based on feedback as part of the development of these principles, a
decision has been made to specifically name Travellers in this document.
There are currently a number of challenges in relation to the capability of HEIs to record student
and sta data disaggregated by ethnicity. The HEA encourages HEIs to continue to work in
collaboration with all stakeholders to enhance the capability to record this data. The HEA
acknowledges that this commitment is made in the context of the need for improved data
collection systems for it to be fully achieved and is committed to supporting the sector in achieving
this outcome.
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ANTI-RACISM PRINCIPLES FOR IRISH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Appendix 2 | Response to stakeholder feedback
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