New book: Inspirational Women in Academia

Double disadvantages for women in academia are common and can cut across gender, race, sexuality, geographic mobility and beliefs.

“We wrote this book as a reaction and response to the evidence of inequalities affecting women in academia” says Natalia Kucirkova, Professor at the University of Stavanger in Norway and The Open University in the UK.

Each chapter includes a short, real-life case study based on the experiences of thirteen inspirational women working either in a research or administrative capacity at some of the world’s most prestigious Higher Education institutions: the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Oxford University, University College London, McGill University and Berkeley School of Education. In addition, the authors collected some practical, hands-on strategies to advance in academia and share some of their own success and failure stories in addressing discrimination and gender disparities.

“The hope is to challenge some of the current performance metrics in academia and reveal the lessons learnt in navigating the hidden curriculum of academic success” she says.

Invitation to dialogue

Through the book, the authors wish to invite dialogue around what it means to have success in higher education.

“Our aim is to increase the representation and leadership potential of women working in academia” says Loleta Fahad, Head of Career Development in Organisational Development at University College London. 

The book is ideal reading for minorities working in higher education interested in promoting equality and diversity in the workplace.

Book launch 20^th of December

On the 20^th of December you are invited to a digital book launch. The authors will share what they learnt from the inspirational women they met during their years working at universities, and the women they had interviewed for this book. Challenges to career progression, workplace diversity and the tension between scholarly and administrative side of academia will be discussed, as well as some of the things we wished we had known before encountering difficulties.

Time: 3.00 – 4.00 PM UK Time (16.00 – 17.00 Oslo Time)

The event is free and open to all. Please register to get the Zoom Meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

About the Authors

Natalia Kucirkova is Professor at two universities – University of Stavanger in Norway and The Open University in the UK. She is also a Visiting Professor at University College London, UK, and Chair of the International Collective of Children’s Digital Books.

Loleta Fahad is Head of Career Development in Organisational Development, University College London (UCL), UK. She is responsible for managing, developing, and implementing resources which support the on-going development, progression, and retention of staff at UCL.

The event will be moderated by the wonderful Afshan Baksh, an active advocate for women's development and anti-racism. Afshan has 24 years of leadership experience in the education sector.

Buy the book at Routledge.