This article examines a double standard. A Black professional may have the qualifications, experience and achievements to be recognised as an expert, yet a white colleague is more readily presented as the authority. The title matters because it can influence who gets an international job, a consultancy contract, a place on an advisory panel and a better salary.
The problem is not confined to subjects about Africa. A Black engineer, doctor, lawyer, economist or researcher can be overlooked in their own field, wherever they work. Documented patterns in recruitment, research credit and pay show why qualifications alone do not guarantee fair treatment.
Key Facts
- Hiring: In a British field experiment, minority ethnic applicants needed 60% more applications than white British applicants to get a positive response. Applicants of Nigerian origin needed 80% more (Di Stasio and Heath, 2019).
- Research credit: In African health research with top US university collaborators, only 23.0% of first authors came from the country studied (Hedt-Gauthier et al., 2019).
- Pay: Expatriates were in some cases paid up to ten times as much as similarly qualified local staff (Trinity College Dublin, 2010).
The studies cited measure hiring, authorship and pay, not the use of the word expert itself. Together, they show the systems that shape professional recognition.
Who Gets Recognised as an Expert?
An expert is someone whose knowledge and work justify trust in a particular field. That expertise can be real and demonstrable. What can be biased is the decision to recognise it publicly. Employers, universities, conference organisers and journalists choose the lead consultant, the person quoted in a report and the name at the top of a speaker list.
Consider an illustrative case of two applicants for the same advisory role. The Black applicant has led more projects, holds stronger relevant qualifications and knows the work directly. The white applicant is nonetheless introduced as the expert, while the Black applicant is offered a supporting role. A selection panel should be able to explain such a choice against evidence of competence, rather than leaving status to assumption.
The Evidence Shows Credentials Do Not Remove Bias
Researchers at Oxford's Centre for Social Investigation sent fictitious applications to nearly 3,200 real British vacancies. Every applicant had qualifications suited to the job, while their ethnic background was varied at random. Minority ethnic applicants needed, on average, 60% more applications to receive a positive response.
The findings for applicants of Nigerian origin were starker. Applicants of Nigerian origin needed, on average, 80% more applications than majority applicants. The report also found that Nigerian applicants with a university degree and relevant work experience still had to send twice as many applications as white British applicants for software engineering and sales or marketing roles (Di Stasio and Heath, 2019). The experiment measured employer responses, not the word expert. It does show that strong credentials did not secure equal access to the next stage.
Research credit gives another view of professional authority. A review of 7,100 health research papers about sub-Saharan Africa found that 13.5% had no author from the country being studied. Across all papers, 52.9% of first authors were from that country. Among papers with collaborators from top US universities, the figure fell to 23.0%.
The authorship study identifies people by their link to the country studied, not by race. First authorship is also an imperfect measure of who did the most work. Even so, the gap raises a serious question about whose contribution receives the most visible credit.
Being Denied Recognition Can Close International Doors
The word expert can act as a career passport. A person already described as a leading authority is more likely to be considered for speaking invitations, international projects and consultancy rosters. A qualified professional repeatedly cast as an assistant or local contact has fewer chances to build that public record.
Pay can reflect a related hierarchy. Project ADDUP examined pay differences between expatriate and local staff in Malawi, Uganda, China, India, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Trinity College Dublin reported that expatriates in some cases received up to ten times as much as similarly qualified local personnel. Local staff described feeling less valued than their expatriate colleagues. This is evidence about employment status, not a direct Black–white comparison. It shows how institutions can assign different value to comparable knowledge.
A Colonial Idea of Intelligence Still Has Consequences
Colonial systems claimed that Europeans were entitled to govern, teach and define knowledge, while Africans were expected to be taught and directed. The assumption that a white outsider is naturally the authority, and a Black professional naturally the assistant, echoes that hierarchy.
This does not mean every decision maker consciously endorses colonial rule. It means an old judgement about whose intelligence carries authority can persist in ordinary professional decisions. Global health scholars have drawn attention to unequal control over funding, leadership and recognition in international work (Abimbola and Pai, 2020).
When a Black professional reaches a senior international position, praise should not frame them as a surprising exception. Their achievement should prompt a closer look at the equally capable people who were never invited to apply, lead or speak.
Organisations Can Change Who Receives Expert Status
Fair recognition requires decisions that can be checked. Employers and professional bodies should publish the experience required for specialist roles, assess candidates against those criteria and record why each person was chosen. Anonymous initial screening may help at one stage, but fairness must continue through interviews, appointments and promotion.
International projects should advertise leadership and consultancy roles to qualified professionals in the countries where they work. Research partnerships should agree leadership and authorship at the outset. Editors and conference organisers should review who they repeatedly present as the expert, including in fields unrelated to Africa or race. Pay policies should separate the value of a role from the justified costs of an international assignment.
Protecting Credit While Organisations Change Their Practices
Responsibility for fair selection lies with institutions, and a stronger portfolio does not cancel out discrimination. Individuals can still take steps to protect the credit they have earned. They can publish work under their own name, keep a documented record of the projects they have led and the results achieved, and agree authorship and credit in writing before work begins.
In research, partnerships between African institutions can also help. The authorship review found that local representation was highest when collaborators came from another African country. It suggested that such partnerships can build technical expertise while keeping African researchers visible on the published work.
Conclusion: Judge Expertise by the Work
Black professionals do not need a special definition of expertise. They need their knowledge, experience and achievements assessed by the same standards applied to everyone else. When a more qualified person is passed over for the expert title, an organisation should be able to explain why.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Black professional be more qualified and still be overlooked?
Yes. Qualifications do not prevent bias in every selection decision. A British field experiment found that applicants of Nigerian origin with degrees and relevant experience still needed far more applications than white British applicants to get a positive response (Di Stasio and Heath, 2019).
Why does being called an expert matter?
The label affects who is invited to apply, speak, advise and lead. Repeated visibility strengthens a professional's record and access to future work.
Is this problem limited to African subjects?
No. The concern applies to Black professionals in medicine, technology, finance, education, law, research and other fields. The studies discussed here come from particular settings and do not measure a rate of discrimination across every profession.
How can an organisation recognise expertise fairly?
It can set public criteria, assess achievements consistently, record selection decisions, credit work accurately and review who receives invitations, senior roles and pay.
References
Abimbola, S. and Pai, M. (2020) 'Will global health survive its decolonisation?', The Lancet, 396(10263), pp. 1627–1628. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32417-X (Accessed: 24 September 2026).
Di Stasio, V. and Heath, A. (2019) Are employers in Britain discriminating against ethnic minorities? Oxford: Centre for Social Investigation, Nuffield College. Available at: https://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/media/30yfuywe/are-employers-in-britain-discriminating-against-ethnic-minorities_final.pdf (Accessed: 24 September 2026).
Hedt-Gauthier, B.L. et al. (2019) 'Stuck in the middle: a systematic review of authorship in collaborative health research in Africa, 2014–2016', BMJ Global Health, 4(5), e001853. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2019-001853 (Accessed: 24 September 2026).
Trinity College Dublin (2010) TCD Centre for Global Health Research project on the discrepancies in aid and development workers' salaries highlighted as high impact research. Available at: https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/tcd-centre-for-global-health-research-project-on-the-discrepancies-in-aid-and-development-workers-salaries-highlighted-as-high-im/ (Accessed: 24 September 2026).
Disclaimer: This article discusses documented patterns and an editorial interpretation of how professional authority is assigned. The studies cited concern different populations and settings, and they do not establish discrimination by any named individual or organisation. The views expressed reflect the editorial analysis of AfricaInfoBase.
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