Diversity

[kevin wooldridge]

I quite agree but I do think that part of the lack of diversity is a result of the insecurity of the profession.

We live in a generation (maybe two generations now) where job security and a well pensioned old age are something talked about but rarely seen - in all kinds of professions not just archaeology. Why therefore would that be a deterrent to minorities entering the profession?

My view is that it is purely a class thing....just so happens that most minorities, for a number of reasons, are in the lowest class grouping and that is the group that has the least access to archaeology as a subject and as a profession....Barking's point about university courses being occupied by folk who have no intention of taking up archaeology post-university is a case in point. These are people who have access to university through their class advantages, but deign not to follow the subject. At the same time they hinder access to the courses by a more diverse group of students....I mean we can't complain, that's just what the middle classes do....Marx recognised this back in 1848 when he described the English middle classes (bourgeoisie) as fundamentally driven by self interest....if we want to increase diversity in a limited industry, someone else has to give something up. That's the simple truth!!