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Journal article
'How dare people of colour outrank me?': inclusion tax obstacles to career advancement for racially minoritised academics in Australian universities
Studies in higher education, Vol.First online, pp.1-14
16/07/2025
Appears in Recent Faculty of Health Publications
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Abstract
Efforts to decolonise the Australian university continue to rest on the shoulders of minoritised academics who are working harder for less. Participants in this study highlighted the ongoing gendered and racialised dimensions of academic success, describing their experiences of navigating university institutions as a complex and often precarious negotiation of power, visibility, and belonging. Many reported that despite achieving relative success, they found that their inclusion in the academic institution/industry carried an unseen burden or hidden cost. This study highlights the institutional barriers and intersectional challenges faced by racially minoritised academics within the Australian neoliberal academic landscape. Drawing on interviews with 23 academics from 14 Australian universities, the research explores critical themes reported such as navigating academic jealousy, devaluation of expertise, enforced conformity, and the metaphorical 'concrete ceiling.' These findings enrich the broader discourse on the challenges that racially minoritised academics face, particularly in terms of institutional and interpersonal racism and its impact on career progression, well-being, and tenure acquisition. Our theoretical framework addresses two pivotal issues: the scarcity of data on racially minoritised academics in Australia and the inherent conflict between their desire to be critical of power structures in higher education and the demands to conform to neoliberal, individualistic academic models that perpetuate their marginalisation.
Details
- Title
- 'How dare people of colour outrank me?': inclusion tax obstacles to career advancement for racially minoritised academics in Australian universities
- Creators
- Kathomi Gatwiri - Southern Cross UniversityZoe Krupka - Cairnmillar Institute
- Publication Details
- Studies in higher education, Vol.First online, pp.1-14
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Number of pages
- 14
- Identifiers
- 991013301828802368
- Copyright
- © 2025 The Author(s).
- Academic Unit
- Centre for Children and Young People; Social Work; Faculty of Health
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article