Navigating British Academia as an Early Career Muslim Woman

This chapter explores the experiences of early career Muslim women in UK Higher Education. It considers the nuanced ways in which religion, gender, and career stage interplay and intersect, shaping their experiences in particular ways as well as how this has consequences for their recognition, success, progression, and retention. As part of this, we draw on examples from our own experiences and observations as two early career visibly Muslim women academics. We engage with examples from our experiences and note some of the ways in which we have attempted to carve out spaces for ourselves in often isolating and marginalising spaces. In doing so, we also scrutinise higher education institutions’ claims about creating inclusive spaces in light of the specific needs and conditions of visibly Muslim women. As a result, the chapter becomes in part an endeavour of resistance and disruption of the status quo, as we claim our space to be heard and recognised.