Race, Gender and Educational Desire

'This book is a great genealogy of black women's unrecognised contributions within both education and the wide social context. I think it constitutes an important piece of work that is totally missing from the existing literature'

- Diane Reay, Professor of Education, Cambridge University


Race, Gender and Educational Desire reveals the emotional and social consequences of gendered difference and racial division as experienced by black and ethnicised women teachers and students in schools and universities. It explores the intersectionality of race and gender in education, taking the topic in new, challenging directions and asking


How does race and gender structure the experiences of black and ethnicised women in our places of learning and teaching?

Why, in the context of endemic race and gender inequality, is there a persistent expression of educational desire among black and ethnicised women?

Why is black and ethnicised female empowerment important in understanding the dynamics of wider social change?



Social commentators, academics, policy makers and political activists have debated the causes of endemic gender and race inequalities in education for several decades. This important and timely book demonstrates the alternative power of a black feminist framework in illuminating the interconnections between race and gender and processes of educational inequality. Heidi Safia Mirza, a leading scholar in the field, takes us on a personal and political journey through the debates on black British feminism, genetics and the new racism, citizenship and black female cultures of resistance. Mirza addresses some of the most controversial issues that shape the black and ethnic female experience in school and higher education, such as multiculturalism, Islamophobia, diversity, race equality and equal opportunities


Race, Gender and Educational Desire makes a plea for hope and optimism, arguing that black women's educational desire for themselves and their children embodies a feminised prospectus for a successful multicultural future. This book will be of particular interest to students, academics and researchers in the field of education, sociology of education, multicultural education and social policy.


Heidi Safia Mirza is Professor of Equalities Studies in Education at the Institute of Education, University of London, and Director of the Centre for Rights, Equalities and Social Justice (CRESJ). She is also author of Young, Female and Black (Routledge).