Diversity in the United Kingdom: Quantification for higher education in comparison to the general population

Abstract

Diversity in the United Kingdom is regularly quantified through Census data. The latest figures (2021) for England and Wales indicate that 82% of the population identifies as white, 51% are females, 17.7%–22.3% are disabled, 18.2% hold no qualifications and 51.7% of households are deprived in at least one dimension. Furthermore, the median age in England and Wales is 40. All of these figures vary significantly across local geographical areas. Diversity in Higher Education (HE) is also monitored yearly by the Office for Students. The latest figures (2020/2021) indicate that 68.4% of entrants are under 21 years old, 56.5% are females, 14.8% report a disability and 21.8% are categorized as severely deprived. Some differences were observed between these figures and those from previous years. The current study aims to highlight how diversity in HE has evolved since 2010 and how the current landscape can illustrate significant differences between courses. Furthermore, comparisons with the general population are also measured in an attempt to describe potential bias in HE, together with new avenues that should be explored to level the HE field in regard to diversity. Our results indicate that access to HE needs to be improved for males, while strong discrepancies were observed between disciplines. Ethnic diversity remains high throughout the HE sector, although subject‐specific biases were noted. An increase in students from the most deprived areas has been found, although it was not the case for all subjects within the sector. Finally, reported disabilities are on the rise, especially regarding mental health, warranting additional support for affected students. These findings are discussed and put into context. To conclude, HE providers might need to collegially address subject‐specific discrepancies.