Ethnicity

The principles which govern acceptable language in this context are similar to those referred to in the 'disability' section earlier. People should respond positively to being asked to avoid using derogatory remarks, whether intentional or unintentional.

Humour

Racist humour is unacceptable and offensive even if the speaker does not intend to offend a particular ethnic group. Racist jokes reinforce misconceptions and prejudice, especially about black and minority ethnic groups by majority ethnic groups.

Ethnic Origin

This is an important aspect of Equal Opportunities monitoring.

EVERYONE belongs to an ethnic group, whether it is the ethnic majority or ethnic minority. Minority ethnic group is preferable to ethnic minority group. Broad categories of Black, White and Asian are widely used though Black and White are also used by some to denote a political reality. References to regional or national origin are preferred by some, eg, Chinese, Arabic, African.

The categories used by the University in its Registration and monitoring procedures are those recommended by the Commission for Racial Equality and used in the 2001 Census, as follows:

White-British

White-Irish

White-other background

Black or Black British-Caribbean

Black or Black British-African

Black-other background

Asian or Asian British-Indian

Asian or Asian British-Pakistani

Asian or Asian British-Bangladeshi

Chinese or other ethnic background-Chinese

Asian-other background

Mixed-White and Black Caribbean

Mixed-White and Black African

Mixed-other background

It is important to remember that these are categories and, as such, may not encompass every group. People may describe themselves as belonging to a particular group which may, or may not, be covered by one of these categories.