In 2021/2022, the ethnicity awarding gap for all UK graduates widened for the first time in seven years — and by “a substantial amount”, according to the charity Advance HE.
Up until that point, the gap — the percentage point difference between the proportion of white students and minority ethnic students awarded a first or 2:1 — had been getting incrementally narrower, with the gap closing significantly in 2019/2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when learning and assessments moved online.
However, as in-person assessments returned, the trend was partially reversed and the ethnicity awarding gap for UK graduates widened to reach 11 percentage points (see Figure 1).
Pharmacy awarding gap
For pharmacy graduates in the UK, a similar pattern has emerged.
The Pharmaceutical Journal’s analysis of degree awarding data submitted by pharmacy schools to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) has previously shown a narrowing in the awarding gap from 12 percentage points in 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 to 8 percentage points in 2019/2020 and 2020/2021.
However, the most recent data show that the gap between the proportion of white and ethnic minority pharmacy graduates who achieved a first or upper second-class degree in 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 has widened again to 11 percentage points — nearly a return to pre-pandemic levels.
Cross-institutional and cross-sector co-created solutions supported by strong leadership are needed to strategically eradicate these gaps
Emmanuel Adukwu, researcher based at the University of the West of England
Emmanuel Adukwu, a researcher based at the University of the West of England and who is actively involved in supporting underrepresented communities in academia and the life sciences, says that the widening of the gap among pharmacy students highlights the importance of a long-term strategic approach. He says it is imperative to carry out data analysis and monitoring “to recognise which groups are most impacted by the gaps”.
“In addition, cross-institutional and cross-sector co-created solutions supported by strong leadership are needed to strategically eradicate these gaps, which should be the ultimate goal,” he adds.
The latest analysis uses HESA data from 4,595 students who graduated with an MPharm degree from 28 of the 30 schools of pharmacy in 2021/2022 and 2022/2023, with a recorded ethnicity and degree classification. It suggests that, while the proportion of white pharmacy graduates being awarded a first or a 2:1 has remained the same as during the pandemic years at 94%, the proportion of ethnic minority pharmacy graduates receiving these classifications has fallen from 86% to 83%, resulting in a widening of the ethnicity awarding gap (see Figure 2).
These disparities are inequitable and have lasting impacts on individuals, their careers and the wider profession
Amandeep Doll, head of professional belonging and engagement at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Amandeep Doll, head of professional belonging and engagement at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), calls the widening gap “deeply concerning”.
“These disparities are inequitable and have lasting impacts on individuals, their careers and the wider profession,” she says.
The analysis does not account for other factors associated with academic achievement, such as socio-economic background, degree choice preference, gender, qualification on entry, or international student schemes. Nor does it factor in different participation rates between ethnicities, which could have an impact on the awarding gap.
Sean Brophy, senior lecturer at the Centre for Decent Work and Productivity at Manchester Metropolitan University, has a theory that discrimination or inequality at British universities may only explain a small portion of the awarding gaps, with differences in participation rates across ethnic groups being a more likely explanation.
“The evidence suggests that white students outperform in MPharm courses partly due to traditional factors such as class and gender differences, but we must also consider how differing participation rates among ethnic groups affect the ability distribution. When certain ethnic groups are substantially overrepresented in pharmacy courses relative to their share of the age cohort, an awarding gap may be a statistical inevitability,” he suggests.
Some 73% of pharmacy students who graduated in 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 were from an ethnic minority background (see Figure 3), whereas people from ethnic minority backgrounds make up only 24% of the university-age population in England and Wales, according to the 2021 census.
Ethnicity breakdown
Analysing the data by ethnic group shows the proportion of students being awarded a higher class of degree decreased for graduates from all ethnic minority groups in 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 compared with the previous two years, with students from Black backgrounds experiencing the steepest fall (see Figure 4).
A statistically significant awarding gap persists between white graduates and those from all other ethnic backgrounds (chi-squared test; P<0.05 for all comparisons), with the gap widening for all ethnicities.
The gap was particularly pronounced for Black pharmacy graduates, with 77% of Black graduates awarded a first or 2:1 compared with 94% of white graduates — a 17-percentage point gap, up from 12 percentage points in 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 and wider than the 15 percentage point gap seen in the two years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The smallest awarding gap was for graduates with a Chinese background, at 8 percentage points, although there were only 90 graduates — 2% of the total — in this group.
Variations between schools
The latest analysis also reveals persistent variations in the ethnicity awarding gaps between schools of pharmacy.
We are not able to publish data from all schools of pharmacy because some have small numbers of either white or ethnic minority students, which could allow identification of individuals.
Of the 15 schools for which we can publish data, 14 had ethnicity awarding gaps in favour of white graduates, which ranged from 3 to 34 percentage points (see Figure 5).
The remaining school had an ethnicity awarding gap of 2 percentage points in favour of ethnic minority students.
Compared with the pandemic years, the ethnicity awarding gaps have widened in 11 of the 15 schools.
As spokespeople from several schools point out, small differences can make a large impact on a university’s awarding gap; in many cases, the gap comes down to a difference of only a handful of students achieving a first or upper second-class degree.
Gaps of this nature can occur due to the outcomes for a small handful of individuals
Philip Rogers, director pharmacy at the University of Bath
Philip Rogers, director pharmacy at the University of Bath, where the ethnicity awarding gap has widened from 2 percentage points in favour of ethnic minority graduates to 7 percentage points in favour of white graduates, explains that, while the university takes the attainment of all its students very seriously, “gaps of this nature can occur due to the outcomes for a small handful of individuals”.
Katrina Bicknell, head of the University of Reading School of Pharmacy, where the ethnicity awarding gap has widened from 2 to 7 percentage points, says the result is “not unexpected”.
“Our student population at Reading’s School of Pharmacy is diverse and variations in the numbers of students from some ethnic groups, including our white student population, can lead to unexpected changes in the awarding gap data we report.”
Closing the gap
Schools of pharmacy have taken forward a variety of initiatives to address ethnicity awarding gaps but acknowledge that it is a complex issue.
This is not a problem that is easily solved but it is one that requires our ongoing commitment
Katrina Bicknell, head of the University of Reading School of Pharmacy
Bicknell stresses that the widening gap at the University of Reading is disappointing, given the efforts the school is making. “We are using this small increase in 2023 to remind us that this is not a problem that is easily solved but it is one that requires our ongoing commitment.”
In the past year, she says the school has opened student-led initiatives, working in partnership with students and the university’s inclusion consultants, to inform activities that can make a positive impact. “We have also embedded cultural competency training for staff and students and will shortly be in a position to evaluate the impact that this has had.”
A spokesperson for the University of Lincoln, which has the widest ethnicity awarding gap at 34 percentage points, says that the university has invested in an extensive project for the pharmacy teaching team to work in collaboration with the Eleanor Glanville Institute — the university’s strategic lead for equality, diversity, and inclusion — to identify factors that may contribute towards its awarding gap.
“The project is currently consulting and working collaboratively with students to examine reasons for differential outcomes in different student groups and the intersectional aspects. Initial responses have already provided a wealth of contextualised data to incorporate best practice teaching and assessment methods into the curriculum for this current academic year, such as, support for assessment literacy, improved support mechanisms, student mentoring and increased global awareness.”
A spokesperson for the University of East Anglia, which is the only school to have an awarding gap in favour of ethnic minority graduates, says: “We have a number of programmes across UEA to address degree awarding gaps. In pharmacy, this includes a successful student of colour ambassador scheme in partnership with the Students’ Union working to support student success, an active peer-assisted learning programme, and a ‘Preparing for Pharmacy’ programme [for students underrepresented in higher education], supporting student transition onto and through the course.”
In October 2023, the RPS set up a working group to tackle the awarding gap experienced by Black pharmacy students and foundation trainees. Other bodies included in the working group are the British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association, General Pharmaceutical Council, NHS England, Pharmacy Schools Council and representatives from individual schools of pharmacy.
“While some progress was made in recent years, our ‘Chasing equality in pharmacy training’ report highlights the need for urgent action [see Box]. Key priorities include removing potential biases from assessment processes, improving transition from secondary education, support for overseas students and strengthening data collection and analysis,” says Doll.
“We remain committed to working with our partner organisations to advocate for change. By working together and implementing the recommendations from the report, we can create a more inclusive and diverse pharmacy profession that ultimately benefits both students and patient care.”
Box: Changes needed to address degree awarding gaps
In a report published in February 2024 — ‘Chasing equality in pharmacy training: Closing the awarding and attainment gap for Black trainees in pharmacy’ — the Royal Pharmaceutical Society provided a list of areas that foundation training providers, educational training providers, schools of pharmacy and regulators may wish to consider when addressing the awarding gaps:
- Regulation and quality assurance — improving the overall standard of foundation training provision will help every student, and ultimately improve the quality of patient care;
- Mentoring and role models — seeing ‘people who look like you’ in the training environment can provide encouragement, and role models contribute to challenging stereotypes;
- Supportive networks — building and providing students and trainees with supportive networks outside of the formal educational hierarchies can help enhance their training and development;
- Recognising and celebrating diversity — embracing and celebrating diversity supports students to feel more integrated;
- Improving cultural competence for tutors — providing training and support for tutors to interact with people from different cultures and respond to their needs;
- Protected learning time — providing supported learning time ahead of the assessment, coupled with resources, revision materials and mock assessments, allowing trainees to prepare for the assessment without any “surprise”;
- Monitoring data — continuing to measure and understand relative gaps and where they occur. Greater transparency and analysis of this data against performance will help to understand where problems exist, so these can be quickly addressed;
- Early intervention and support — providing regular feedback and intervening early when tutors and supervisors become aware of a problem affecting a student’s or trainee’s progress;
- Taking a holistic approach to trainee performance — understanding the range of factors that affect a trainee’s performance is vital. This could include mental health and wellbeing, practical issues around finances, housing, and visas and immigration;
- Learning and assessment styles — being cognisant of the biases and disadvantages that may be created for certain groups in their assessment approaches.
