According to an analysis by the Royal Society of Chemistry, black chemists are less likely to progress in academia and even if they do, many of them don't receive funds. The report further states that almost 5 per cent of undergraduate chemists are black, yet among PhD students, only 1.4 per cent are black and there is only one black chemistry professor in the UK.
Dr Helen Pain, the society’s chief executive, said,“Racism, discrimination and ethnic inequalities are a reality in the chemical sciences, just as they are in our wider society. The time for talking is past, we must confront these issues head on, explicitly calling out racism in science for what it is.” To tackle inequalities in science, the society is launching a £1.5 million fund.
