Standard university frameworks often operate under the assumption of a level playing field. However, for global majority* researchers, the reality is defined by systemic barriers that traditional institutional structures often overlook.

To ensure all researchers thrive, progress and lead, we need to make ambiguous academic career paths a lot clearer.

Led by Raj Mann and Dr Karisha George, the Demystifying academia project has been commissioned by the White Rose University Consortium to directly address this challenge.

By identifying best practices across partner institutions and the wider sector, the project will develop and pilot a tailored development programme to help demystify academia.

This initiative hopes to equip global majority ECRs with the tools and clarity needed to confidently navigate and progress their careers within higher education. 

The following case study offers a raw, firsthand look into the lived experience of an academic navigating these structures, illustrating the systemic hurdles that this project aims to address.

This case study has been taken from an interview held by Dr Karisha George within the Demystifying Academia project with consent from the participant. It is not a polished success narrative, and is a grounded reflection offering perspective, realism and practical insight. Our case studies represent personal experiences and perspectives of individual contributors, and others may experience academic careers differently. All identifying information has been removed.

What does the path to a full professorship look like to you, and are there any barriers standing in your way?

I do not think I want to be a Professor any longer. I am already constantly proving my worth with grants, deadlines and visible successes. 

In academia, there is a lot of pressure to perform, and I often feel that I am not valued unless I am meeting the many short project deadlines and funding deadlines. 

There is already constant pressure, and I feel that success is measured based on your current and most recent achievements, and constantly looking ahead to the future, rather than celebrating any previous successes. 

It feels like contributions have to be consistent, especially if you are someone from the Global Majority. For me, part of this pressure comes from speaking English as a second language. I naturally change who I am when speaking a language other than my own. Because of this, I can feel like a second-class citizen, constantly needing to convince others in scientific arguments using a language I am not fully proficient in.

How would you describe your experience of fitting into academia so far?

I need to be constantly more active than others just to feel like I belong and to prove that I was hired for my merits, and not simply as a token choice because of my race.

I feel disadvantaged by the statistics regarding global majorities in higher positions. 

For example, with the 100 Black Female Professors initiative, it is ridiculous that there are fewer than 100 Black female Professors. 

These low numbers show how difficult it is for our successes in grants and publications to be recognised. 

Grants are important for promotions, but you are increasingly less likely to have the time to develop these applications, which means you are stuck with heavier workloads, which then could be viewed as you are not ready for promotion. 

It is a constant circle of loss. 

Do you think there are aspects of your background that limit your ability to manage different aspects of a professorship role?

I experience day-to-day discrimination. As a Global Majority Early Career Academic, I am constantly seeking approval.

For example, when there are delays, I experience microaggressions from others to express their sense of disappointment. This doesn’t just happen for delays, but also if I say no. I receive praise for my achievements, but am met with tense silence when I do not achieve or say yes as expected. 

These fluctuations between being accepted and then not accepted create intense pressure to meet deadlines; otherwise, I am seen as lacking or missing something.

It is hard not to be affected by this, and I feel pressured to work even harder, even when I know that the real issue is the system and the work culture.

Why should I then want to be a Professor? The only attractive thing that is left is the money. There is nothing else, as my confidence and feelings towards the job will not change. 

When you think about academia as a long-term relationship, how do you feel about it all in relation to confidently progressing as a Global Majority academic?

I think there needs to be improved line manager training. As a Global Majority Early Career Academic,, I have found myself working under line managers who may not understand how not to show microaggressions.

I have high career ambitions that I know I need to work twice as hard as my peers to achieve. This means I put a lot of pressure on myself, and this pressure is compounded by senior staff, as my role is essentially to help them progress. 

This environment could be improved by providing line managers with more in-depth training.

Reflections I would offer others:

• Academic success should be defined on your own terms. Contemporary academia often rewards productivity, visibility and measurable outputs, which can create a culture where constantly working, always being available and continuously producing become the norm. While these expectations have developed for understandable reasons, they can unintentionally promote the idea that there is only one way to be a successful academic.
• Academic success should not come at the expense of your identity. Academia should not require people to suppress parts of themselves in order to fit in. For those of us who speak English as a second language or come from different cultural backgrounds, it can sometimes feel as though we need to communicate, behave or lead in ways that are considered more acceptable within the existing academic culture. 
• Diversity should not simply be about representation; it should also mean creating environments where different ways of thinking, communicating and leading are genuinely valued.
• Recognition should extend beyond measurable outputs. Contemporary academic worth is judged by the number of grants won, papers published or promotions achieved. These are undoubtedly important, but they were never meant to become the purpose of academic life. Academia has its roots in intellectual curiosity, the pursuit of knowledge and the desire to improve society. When funding and publication metrics become the primary measures of success, there is a risk that they begin to shape the questions researchers choose to pursue.  

*The White Rose University Consortium recognises the importance of racial and ethnic terminology and understands that individuals use different terms to identify and represent themselves. The Equity in Leadership Programme team asked all participants to vote on the term that they felt best represented them. The term ‘global majorities’ received the most votes, as it provides a more positive perspective compared to the othering narrative of “minority groups.”

Find out more about the Demystifying academia project.