Is UG positioned to promote ‘inclusivity, diversity, and fairness?’

Dear Editor,
GIVEN the pre-occupation of a segment of the population with allegations of racism and discrimination, the University of Guyana, as the leading educational institution in the country, thought it appropriate to launch, on November 3, 2021, the “Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity Policy “Unit (IDEP), to provide leadership in this area.

In theory, educational institutions at all levels are well positioned to play a key role in mitigating harsh racial attitudes, promoting tolerance, and understanding.

Civil discourses, views, and evidence of racism and discrimination must be ventilated, and in cases where injury has been inflicted and established, appropriate remedies must be instituted. We must move beyond words on to deeds.

It is noted that the formation of any organisation or unit to enhance inclusivity, diversity, and equality of access to opportunity must be set on the right platform.

This has not necessarily been the case with the launch of the University of Guyana’s IDEP Unit. Social commentator, Ms Fatimah Mohammed believes that it was not well grounded, as the unit itself lacks inclusivity and diversity.

Ms Fatimah said: “The unit is composed of 10 people and only one is an Indo-Guyanese. The unit’s executive comprises mainly ethnic Africans, with only one token Indo-Guyanese. There was a total disregard, by the University of Guyana and the unit, for the diversity of the Guyanese society, which is proportioned 40 per cent East Indians; 30 per cent Africans; 20 per cent Mixed; and 10 per cent Amerindian descent.” (Pride: 12/1/2021). To show how the composition of the unit reflects a broader pattern, she says that 80 per cent of the staff at UG are Afro-Guyanese.

While I have been unable to verify this proportion, a content analysis conducted by a colleague shows that 70 per cent of the statutory and academic support staff are Afro-Guyanese. For the teaching and support staff (in the Faculties of Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, Medical, Education and Humanities), Afro-Guyanese account for 57.3 per cent. There is some evidence of gender diversity at UG, as females occupy 56.2 per cent of the staff positions in the four faculties.

The main point that Ms Fatimah is making, however, is that while there have been frequent allegations of racism and discrimination in other sectors of the economy, such as in the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Housing and Water in the award of large contracts, little attention has been given to the practice of fairness and diversity at the country’s premier educational institution, where one ethnic group that occupies statutory, administrative, and teaching positions does not reflect the inclusivity and diversity that the university purports to embrace.

Critics are quick to point out perceptions of inequality and bias in a few areas such as contract awards, but they also overlook the diversity and fairness that exists in the housing, education, and other sectors.

Both the Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, and the Minister within the Ministry of Housing, Susan Rodrigues, for example, have stated that 50 per cent of the 20,800 house lots allocated have gone to Afro-Guyanese.

Furthermore, upholding gender diversity as a top policy priority, Minister Susan reports that 8,000 of those house lots were allocated to single women. With respect to the first 6,000 GOAL scholarships, Aaron Pires’ analysis shows that 39 per cent were awarded to Afro-Guyanese students and 41 per cent to Indo-Guyanese, while Mixed and Amerindians accounted for 20 per cent.
Obviously there has been no discrimination against Afro-Guyanese in house lot allocations and scholarship awards. Their grants and awards were higher than their proportion in the general population which is 29 per cent (based on 2012 census).

How would UG’s IDEP Unit achieve inclusivity, diversity and fairness is a massive challenge. To be credible, they should consider overhauling the staff composition of the IDEP Unit to reflect the diversity of the country. I know that they fully understand that images could be even more powerful than messages. As the country’s foremost educational institution UG must send out the right signals.

While I believe in diversity, inclusivity, and fairness, I also recognise how the Guyanese society has evolved and no one can easily dismiss the social stratification that conditioned occupational gravitation in specific pathways.

Not to unsettle and to respect this historical pattern of occupational stratification, it is reasonable to posit that for now and the future, inclusivity, fairness, and equality of access to opportunity must be accorded priority for all Guyanese.

Yours respectfully,
Dr Tara Singh

 

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