Indian Female Academic Discriminated Against At Portsmouth University, To Get ?450k

Portsmouth University, located in England, has been asked to pay at least ?4,50,000 for "subconscious" discrimination against a female Indian academic.

A tribunal based in Southampton has found Dr Kajal Sharma racially discriminated against by her line manager at Portsmouth University.

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Who is Dr Kajal Sharma?

Dr. Kajal Sharma, an academic, held the position of Associate Head of Organisational Studies and Human Resource Management on a five-year fixed-term contract.

As her contract concluded on December 31, 2020, she was required to undergo a reapplication process for the same position.

A white woman appointed instead, lacking any experience

Professor Gary Rees, Dr. Kajal Sharma's supervisor, did not inform her that the role was being advertised internally.

He purportedly declined to renew her for the same position after five years without providing a clear rationale.

Instead, he appointed a white woman, lacking any relevant experience for the role, as her replacement.

When she asked for feedback for why she was rejected, none was given.

The tribunal concluded this was because "he was well aware the process had not been fair and fully transparent."

Representative image/ Unsplash

It was thus found that the process of selection was tainted by racial discrimination and Reese treated her differently compared to white staff.

"His reluctance to recognise the skills and abilities and aspirations of Dr Sharma, and his failure to support and encourage her in the way he supported and encouraged other members of white staff, points towards a subconscious or unconscious bias," the tribunal said.

This bias meant "his failure to reappoint her was an act of race discrimination," stated the tribunal.

Moreover, the tribunal discovered no indications of her inadequacy for the position.

Not the first instance of discrimination against Kajal

On January 8, 2016, Kajal's father passed away in India.

When she informed Rees about her need to travel to India, he requested her to complete various tasks before her departure.

Despite her dealing with her father's funeral in India, Rees emailed her with additional work-related queries.

Moreover, Rees dissuaded her from applying for a senior fellow position. Upon her return from maternity leave, he neglected to offer the support she sought when her infant son faced a critical illness, as revealed during the tribunal.

Interestingly, he had demonstrated empathy and support to other members of the staff.

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