Page 33 - ELG2202 Feb Issue 479

DIVERSITY IN ELT

and 90% feeling safe there, while 80% thought work isn’t credited or their opinions valued. people feel ‘like the only one’, double the
their organisation was committed to antiracism. Non-native speakers were three times likelier figure for heterosexual colleagues, and they are
Working conditions appear to be broadly to think this was a career disadvantage and also less likely to think their opinion is listened
welcoming as well: 82% thought their work twice as likely to have heard or seen prejudiced to or that they could be themselves at work.
and ideas were recognised and credited, 74% language or behaviour in UK ELT.
that recruitment was fair and transparent, The way forward
and 78% say being their authentic self is not a Other types of discrimination The most frequent comments encouraged us to
disadvantage to their career. After native speakerism, sexism and classism get on with this work, lead by example and take
However, there are less positive findings were the most common forms of discrimination meaningful action to address the roots of racism
too. Almost half of the respondents were mentioned by survey respondents. and discrimination in UK ELT. It was suggested
concerned about racism or xenophobia in UK Just under a third of respondents said English UK emphasise inclusivity, particularly
ELT, with 45% concerned about other types of classism happened sometimes, often or to those colleagues experiencing racism and
discrimination. Almost 40% had heard or seen frequently. Staff not in leadership roles are discrimination. We should showcase black
prejudiced language, opinions or behaviour in less likely to think that all kinds of people are people and people of colour on our channels,
their work, with almost 30% thinking racism equally respected. They are also more likely with a greater diversity of voices.
was “not on the agenda” in UK ELT. to be concerned about and to have witnessed Our survey proposed some actions we
racism or other discrimination, but are less might take, all of which were endorsed
Native speakerism confident about reporting it. Sexism was the in the responses. They included training
This issue, unique to the industry, was raised second most common type of discrimination and guidance, understanding and discussing
by Silvana Richardson of Bell English, in a reported, mentioned by 36% of all respondents racism and discrimination, sharing visual
groundbreaking IATEFL conference plenary and almost half of women. A quarter of women and messaging guides, human resources and
half a decade ago and was raised again by her think there is bias or discrimination in their policy templates, supporting the creating of
at English UK’s ELT conference in 2021. workplace, and almost two-thirds disagree antiracist inclusive teaching materials and
Almost half of the survey sample agreed that that staff are treated equally. Over half of men helping member centres to communicate their
‘native’ speakers are more respected in the but under a third of women thought teaching organisation’s policies.
sector, saying they have often been asked for a materials reflect diverse people and lives. Many of these activities have been prioritised
more ‘British’ homestay host, teacher or other Over 80% had rarely or never witnessed for us by the action group, and we will be
member of staff. This was reported as the most or experienced homophobia, but lesbian, gay progressing them in the coming months. I look
common form of discrimination in UK ELT. or bisexual people are twice as likely to think forward to seeing our work beginning to make
Non-native speakers are likelier to feel left being themselves was a career disadvantage. a difference in our sector and making UK ELT
out, unsafe or ‘the only one’ and feel their Over a quarter of gay, lesbian or bisexual an even better place to work for everyone.

The UK’s English language teaching industry lags on diversity

Men and women representation
schools, as they have a high turnover and do
fter doing a survey of 30 UK
WORDS GERALD NIKOLAI SMITH A133 teachers featured, only 11 Women 51.8% not normally have a ‘meet the teachers’ section.
English language schools’
websites, I found that, out of
There are some potential problems with
the data. First, I, a white man, made the
were people of colour and of those 11, only
judgement if a person looked white or not.
Men
48.2%
three were black.
Ethnicity is not actually as obvious as we
might believe. I could not say whether a
Africa or had parents of different ethnicities.
People of colour
Second, the sample size is not as large as it
8.3% Ethnicities of featured teachers person was from Southeast Asia or North
Women were featured prominently in other could be. There are at least a hundred language
roles, such as administration and social schools in the UK, but not every one features
activity coordinators, but when looking their teachers on an ‘about us’ page. Not every
at the teaching roles, five more men were school has a readily accessible website either.
represented than women. Despite these problems, the data still points
Women outnumber men 51% to 49% towards the underrepresentation of teachers
White
91.7% in the UK. It is unclear whether the of colour in the UK. Women are also not as
According the 2011 census, 13% of the UK’s underrepresentation of women on the sites visible in teaching roles as men. The industry
population are people of colour, but more is deliberate. However, anyone who works in must do better if it wants to be truly diverse
recent surveys have said that number is closer this industry knows how prominent women and inclusive. As pointed out previously in
to 14.4%, while English language schools teachers are. the EL Gazette, there are many teachers of
feature only 8.3% teachers of colour. At the school I work at currently, women colour who are being passed up for positions.
Teachers of colour are under-represented teachers outnumber men 2 to 1. While that’s Why not make an effort to hire them?
by around 5-6% in the UK’s ESL industry. not representative of the entire industry,
This shows a clear diversity problem in a it does make you wonder whether men are ESL teacher representation in the UK
supposedly inclusive industry. Many teachers getting overly advertised as ESL teachers, 125
of colour are either not being represented while women are being hidden. None of the 100
on schools’ sites or they are simply not being 133 teachers featured had any visible tattoos.
hired for English language teaching positions. This may be the norm, as tattoos are viewed 75
Another potential issue with the industry is as unprofessional by the UK population. Only UK 50
how men and women are represented. While one teacher had visible piercings. 25
a large number of women work in ESL, it To gather this data, I reviewed 30 English 0
Black
appears men are featured more often than language teaching schools’ sites advertised on White Middle aged + Young Tatoos Piercings Men Women
women on schools’ websites. Quality English. I didn’t include any summer People of colour
editorial@elgazette.com 33