Ambivalent positions: Ethnicity and working in our ‘own communities’ Multicultural Britain: From Racism to Identity Politics Dr Kanwal Mand and Dr Susie Weller

Introduction: Context of paper Women’s workshop Race and ethnicity in HE markets. We are interested in: the intersection between power and niche markets within HE the way in which many (women) researchers carve out a niche on the basis of identity politics Women's motivations to work in their ‘own communities’ ~ carving niches in response to constraints within the academy or because of opportunity factors? Entanglements of Power Enabling and/ or Disabling?

Carving out a niche Our background ~ Insider/ outsider? We compare our experiences as an Asian/middle- class woman and a White/working-class woman We also draw from the experiences of our colleagues Constructed notion of ‘community’ ~ a researcher often has some commonality, shared identity, language, culture or geographical background with their participants Failure of conventional categorizations ~ Susie, not conventionally seen as part of an ‘ethnic’ group. Kanwal, traditionally be categorized as an ethnic minority.

In the field Kanwal’s fieldwork The experiences of teenagers in rural Britain Fieldwork in a community radio station Susie’s fieldwork

The enabling niche Authority and authenticity: Who may speak for whom? Shared backgrounds: Rapport, trust and access. Representing under-represented groups Positive discrimination

The disabling niche Contract research in British HE Composition/ skills utilised Nature Current drives for high quality and speed in the production of knowledge in academia Constrained to a niche Hierarchies/ precariousness

Conclusions: Challenges Barriers in academic careers ~ gender, class and ethnicity. Working in ‘own community’ may be simultaneously enabling and disabling Individualisation, specialization and the pressure to continue working and publishing within one niche. The compartmentalization of different studies of ethnicity and culture.

Conclusions: Recommendations Collective work may foster possibilities for researchers to move within and between niches. A fundamental shift away from the idea that “Black women can only do research in Black communities” is both essential and needed. A better system for career progression is needed for those working on short-term contracts, which would allow more women and minority ethnic researchers to reach senior positions.