LatinX*: rendering an overlooked community visible with one simple change
*LatinX — a person of Latin American origin or descent (used as a gender-neutral or non-binary alternative to Latino or Latina).
King’s College London and Citizens UK are committed to making change on an issue that has been brought to our attention by the inspiring young women of LatinXcluded.
The Issue
For years, UK-based LatinX university applicants have been forced to select code 80: ‘Other ethnic background’ when applying through UCAS. The eighth biggest minority community in London are unable to identify as a specific ethnic group.
Consequently, the evidence base relating to the LatinX community is poor and universities are currently unable to monitor LatinX access, success and outcomes within the higher education (HE) sector. King’s want to support our students to access university, get the most out of their studies and create a supportive environment within which they can articulate their identity. Our ability to effectively do this for LatinX students is currently severely limited.
Additionally, as LatinXcluded say, this issue has a lasting impact on the community:
“Being forced to identify as ‘Other’ hinders the development of a stable LatinX identity and sense of belonging in the education system, leaving a lasting impact on the visibility of the community and aspirations to access higher education”
The Solution
In order for this to be addressed, the introduction of specific ethnicity code(s) is required. This will:
- Gather useful data on this community which can be used by HE providers to provide better support for this community.
- Begin to provide a space to develop, a sense of belonging, as well as the possibility of increased aspirations and the hope of a better future for LatinX young people that have been rendered invisible thus far.
UCAS are required to use ethnicity codes set by Advance HE, whilst Advance HE and other bodies base ethnicity codes on those used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the national census. Current ONS policy means over 250,000 LatinX people across the UK are unable to identify as a specific group on almost all official monitoring forms. This issue therefore goes beyond higher education and requires a wider change to be made.
The Ask
We call on the ONS to implement the following ethnicity codes:
Latin/South/Central American
Mixed British and Latin/South/Central American
At King’s we have committed to taking institutional action on LatinX staff and student representation through inclusion in our Race Equality action plan.The ONS should also show leadership on an issue that has only been brought to light by the anger and dedication of young LatinX people. Only then can we effectively support the LatinX community in accessing and succeeding higher education and fully include them in the ongoing dialogue around race equality.
Written by:
Jimmy Pickering, Widening Participation Manager (Post-16)
Further reading:
Hill, Dave, ‘Latin American Londoners: becoming more visible’, The Guardian, 9th July, 2016 (Date accessed: 07/02/2019)
Ibid: Summary
