A black scholar at the University of Cambridge who was denied an interview for a more senior role has lost a claim for race discrimination at the employment tribunal.
Calbert Graham, who is of Afro-Caribbean heritage, applied for a role of assistant professor in 2022 at a time when his own job was at risk of redundancy, the tribunal heard.
At the time he was a senior research associate in the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics at the university.
The job advert for assistant professor in second language education at the Faculty of Education did not clearly identify essential criteria, the tribunal heard, but wanted to “attract the widest possible pool of applicants”.
In his application, he noted that he had been “affected in a very personal way by Windrush”, a scandal that emerged in 2017 after hundreds of Commonwealth citizens were wrongly detained or deported because they did not have the documentation to prove their right to remain in the UK.
Race discrimination
He also mentioned that his work had been formally recognised during a Black History Month celebration in 2018. Both aspects of his application should have indicated to the hiring panel that he was black, he said.
He was not put on the shortlist for interview, and accused the panel of racial bias.
However, the tribunal found that he did not meet the requirements of being “a scholar of some distinction” to meet the threshold for being asked to interview.
It concluded that although there had been some inconsistency between the job advert, the information provided to candidates and the eventual selection criteria, it had been satisfied with the panel’s ultimate scoring system and feedback given to Graham, who failed to meet a number of the criteria.
There were 53 applicants for the role of assistant professor in second language education, and Graham told the court that he was “not at all worried about meeting the basic requirements of the job” because it was “precisely what I’ve been doing for the last 13 years”.
The panel, meanwhile, felt that his experience in applied linguistics was closely related to second language education, but they were specifically looking for candidates who were experts in the latter field.
Graham reported that he had an email exchange with colleague Professor Linda Fisher, who was on the selection panel. He said that his photo in his email account would have been a further indication to the panel that he was black.
His application also showed that he had obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of the West Indies.
In judgment, Judge Tynan said that while there were “undoubtedly indicators” that Graham was black, the hiring committee could not be certain. Furthermore, all four members of the panel had undertaken training in equality and diversity and understanding unconscious bias.
Judge Tynan added: “We think it highly unwise to assume anything about a person’s race from the University they attended as an undergraduate. To do so would be to fail to have regard to racial diversity within academic institutions and the countries and regions from which they draw their students.
“As regards Dr Graham’s reference to Black History Month, the study of and research into issues of race and racial identity are plainly not the exclusive preserve of those who are black, of colour or might otherwise identify as BAME.”
He added that someone who is personally affected by Windrush could also be impacted through a partner or their family, or because they have another close relationship with someone directly affected by Windrush.
“We are amply satisfied that the shortlisting was a collaborative exercise involving four independent-minded academics who were accustomed to and comfortable with group decision making structures and practices,” he concluded.
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