What does it mean to navigate UK higher education as a non-academic Black woman, foreign-born and working within predominantly White institutions?

This powerful book offers a rare and necessary perspective, uncovering the ways race, gender, and foreignness intersect to shape identity, career, and belonging.

Through deeply personal narratives, reflective analysis, and scholarly insight, Abigal Muchecheti reveals how systemic colorism, unconscious bias, and institutional racism persist in spaces that claim diversity. She highlights how foreign-born Black women in particular are hyper-visible yet undervalued, often facing compounded exclusion because of accent, cultural background, and perceived “outsider” status.

Challenging the illusion of meritocracy in higher education, this book builds on intersectionality theory and key research to illuminate how hidden barriers continue to marginalize women of colour in the sector.

Ideal for students, scholars, and practitioners in Black Studies, Gender Studies, Sociology, Anti-Racism, and Higher Education, as well as anyone committed to understanding and dismantling systemic inequalities.

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Abstract
• Table of Contents
• Diagrams
• Warning
• Learning objectives
• Introduction
• Part I Staff: Race, gender, and survival in the workplace
  • 1 Race and gender on professional identity within higher education
    • Introduction
    • Terms matter
    • Methodology
    • The intersection of race and gender in higher education
    • Racialised roles and lack of recognition
    • Institutional silence, racialised emotional taxation, and coded exclusion in UK higher education
    • Theorising RET
    • Stereotypes of incompetence and the paradox of professional legitimacy in UK higher education
    • Code switching
    • In-group and out-group dynamics in UK universities: Race and culture
    • The blocked pipeline: Systemic barriers at three critical stages
    • Lack of role models and mentorship for Black women in non-academic staff roles
    • Towards an intersectional framework
    • Microaggressions and the racialised workplace: Black women in UK higher education
    • Hair politics: The erasure of cultural identity
    • The emotional tax of microaggressions
    • Transforming higher education culture
    • Recommended projects
    • Note
    • References
  • 2 The influence of colourism on career progression and representation
    • Introduction
    • Historical and social roots of colourism
    • Barriers to advancement for darker-skinned women
    • Colourism and representation
    • Lighter-skinned women as tokens of diversity
    • The erasure of women across the colour spectrum
    • The psychological toll of spectral erasure: Identity, confidence, and emotional depletion
      • The complexity of institutional racism in UK higher education
    • The persistence of structural racism: A conceptual framework
    • Recruitment processes: Structural inequalities in hiring practices
      • Job descriptions and criteria: Perpetuating White norms of merit
      • Recruitment panels: Unconscious bias and cultural fit
      • Social capital and informal networks: Structural exclusion
      • The impact of “encouragement” policies: Tokenism or real change?
    • Promotion and regrading in UK universities: Racial inequities and structural barriers
    • Line manager influence: Unconscious bias and discretionary power
    • Cultural fit: A mechanism for racial exclusion
    • The role of informal networks and social capital
    • Meritocracy or illusion? The racialized nature of promotion criteria
    • Regrading and the overlooked contribution of BME Staff
    • Moving toward structural change
      • Diversifying leadership
      • Inclusive recruitment and promotion
      • Accountability mechanisms
    • Building cultures of belonging
    • Belonging without compromise: From promise to practice
    • Reflexive questions
    • Note
    • References
  • 3 The emotional toll of diversity, equality, and inclusion: Rejection, shame, and the burden of belonging in higher education
    • The disconnect between diversity rhetoric and reality
    • Who gets to do equity work? Shifting power and the appropriation of diversity
    • The burden of representation
    • Burnout: The emotional exhaustion of constantly fighting
    • Rejection, shame, and guilt: The hidden costs of failed diversity
    • Career decisions: Re-routing ambition in hostile spaces
    • Withdrawal from institutional and social spaces
    • Reflexive questions
    • References
  • 4 Resistance
    • Introduction
    • Surviving the institution: informal resistance and everyday strategies
    • Everyday acts of refusal: Quiet disruption in hostile systems
      • Challenging systems: Naming power, gatekeeping, and structural control
      • Building otherwise: The intersectional gatekeeping framework
    • Rethinking institutional possibility
    • Reflexive questions
    • Note
    • References
• Part II Students: Navigating institutions that were not built for you
  • 5 Supporting marginalised students through mentorship
    • Introduction: Holding space for marginalised students in higher education
    • Institutional formalisation: Inclusion or co-optation?
    • Mentorship as survival and resistance
    • The power of witnessing
    • Informal networks and the hidden curriculum
    • Mentorship across difference (and sameness)
    • Conclusion: The intersection of difference and sameness
    • Mentorship as holding space
    • Resources: More than a website link
    • The intersectional realities of mentorship
    • Mentorship as holding space
    • Reimagining mentorship: Toward more inclusive and holistic practices
    • Community-building through mentorship
    • Transforming the structural landscape
    • Financial and academic support: Beyond survival toward equity
    • Addressing microaggressions and creating meaningful spaces for marginalised students
    • The invisible violence of microaggressions
    • Counter spaces and acts of refusal
    • The university cannot heal itself
    • The limits of anti-racism training: A critical review
    • Anti-racism is an ongoing, reflexive process
    • Institutional commitment: A call for structural change
    • Empowering students as active agents of change
    • Intersectionality: Recognising multiple marginalisation
    • Conclusion
    • Reflexive questions
    • References
  • 6 Introduction to colourism in higher education: The student experience
    • Colourism in higher education: Curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment
    • A silent determinant of peer interaction in higher education
    • Colourism and the formation of social hierarchies among students
    • Impact of colourism on self-efficacy in higher education
    • The crisis of identity in colourism: Dark-skinned vs. light-skinned students in higher education
    • The role of representation in colourism and student identity
    • Representation and the emotional and academic impact
    • The Importance of acknowledging colourism in “inclusive” spaces
    • Institutional policies, practices and colourism
    • Holding institutions accountable
    • Section II
      • Language, Accents, and Communication in Higher Education
    • The impact of accents on academic identity and social belonging
    • The social and academic challenges faced by students with non-standard accents
    • Perceptions of intelligence and ability based on accents
    • Language in assessment and feedback
    • Institutional responses to language and accent discrimination: A deeper dive
    • Moving beyond lip service to institutional action
    • Student activism as a catalyst for change
    • Conclusion
    • Reflexive questions
    • References
  • 7 Institutional neglect and invisibility: Underreporting of BME student mental health issues
    • Historical mistrust of institutional systems
    • Lack of data and research on BME mental health needs
    • Limited access to culturally competent support
    • Consequences of institutional failures on BME student well-being
    • Academic underperformance and attrition
    • Mental health and academic impairment: A vicious cycle
    • Mental health and the awarding gap
    • Erosion of trust in institutions
    • Avoidance of other institutional services
    • Wider impact on social and academic integration
    • Internalisation of deficit narratives
    • Impact of racial microaggressions on identity formation
    • The psychological toll and long-term effects
    • Long-term career and life outcomes
    • Psychological toll of workplace racism
    • Economic consequences: Limited social mobility and wealth inequality
    • Impact on life satisfaction and well-being
    • The reproduction of Structural inequalities
    • Moving towards structural solutions
    • Embedding anti-racist mental health frameworks in institutional policies
    • Culturally responsive and community-centred mental health services
    • Reflexive questions
    • Notes
    • References
  • 8 Conclusion: Establishing accountability mechanisms for diversity and inclusion initiatives
    • Introduction
    • Regular audits and reports on diversity metrics
    • Integrating diversity outcomes into leadership evaluations
    • Linking EDI outcomes to institutional funding and accreditation
    • Mandatory public disclosure of disaggregated data
    • Safe mechanisms for marginalised groups to report grievances
    • Enforcing clear consequences for failure
    • Ending institutional self-policing: External, transparent reviews
    • Culturally specific training and structural change
    • Protecting and rewarding whistleblowers and disruptors
    • Embedding intersectionality into EDI metrics
    • Conclusion
    • Reflexive questions
    • References
• Epilogue: The strength of Black women
• Index

Dr. Abigal Muchecheti is a Zimbabwe-born scholar, activist, and author focusing on equity in higher education and women’s rights.