I have developed a national and international reputation for my work on identity and leadership. The emerging themes of are gender identity and race in the context of leadership, and the implications for the experiences of learners and educators. In the early part of my research career I focused on the experiences of ethnic minorities in ITT, whilst latterly my research spans across two related themes: first, gender, education, leadership and empowerment, and second, young Black women’s experiences of education in the context of their well-being.

I have been the principal and co-principal investigator for five research projects. The UK WomenKind project centred on women and violence, nationally and internationally. A project on identity and leadership, funded by Race in the Community and BELMAS, explored non-white women in senior leadership positions across sectors in England. My ‘Coaching and Mentoring’ project explored how coaching and mentoring can assist with the progression and development of BME staff. More recent projects include Gender and Leadership in Higher Education in Pakistan: Capturing the voices of BME PhD students (funded through the Liberating Curriculum); and Black Girls/Young Black women’s experiences in education. These projects have led to publications in peer-reviewed journals such as EMAG and Curriculum Inquiry. The research also informed book chapters; for instance, The Role of the ‘Black Girls Club’ Challenging the Status Quo Feminist Pedagogy, Practice and Activism. I have been commissioned to write a co-authored book with Carol Tomlin entitled: Managing Everyday Racism (Lexington Rowman & Littlefield) and an edited book – the Bloomsbury Gender Handbook on Educational leadership and Management (Bloomsbury).