Breaking Barriers.
Fostering interdisciplinary research leadership among Black women academics
An evidence-led programme and open knowledge hub — building funding readiness, durable networks and structural culture change, and sharing a transferable model with the wider higher education sector.
01
Our Mission
Talent is everywhere.
Opportunity is not.
We dismantle the structural barriers that filter Black women out of academia, and build the conditions where they thrive — the networks, funding readiness and institutional change that turn underrepresented researchers into the leaders shaping their fields.
And we foster the collaborative, interdisciplinary environment where brilliant minds meet across fields - becasue the most complex societal challenges are never solved alone
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Research Pillars
Black women are the most under-represented group in UK research leadership.
The barriers are structural — opaque funding routes, time poverty, precarious contracts and the absence of sponsorship — not a deficit of talent or ambition.
Breaking Barriers works at three levels at once — individual confidence, relational networks, and structural change — because one-off interventions don't shift systems.
01
Connect
Networks that end isolation
Visible cross-disciplinary communities, peer sponsorship and senior allies replace scattered, informal access to opportunity.
02
Develop
Funding readiness, built
Research clinics, grant-writing, strategy mapping and microgrants close the conversion gap from idea to funded bid.
03
Transform
Change that sticks
A toolkit, an Impact Tracker and institutional recommendations embed the learning into policy and practice.
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Case Studies: Featured Interdisciplinary Projects
01
Midwifery Workforce Preparedness for Minority Ethnic Women
Examines workforce readiness, structural competency and maternal-health disparities affecting minority ethnic women in the UK.
02
Culturally Relevant Pain Management in Osteoarthritis (aPPIE)
Co-designed intervention research addressing inequities in pain perception, treatment access and culturally responsive care.
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Doing Business Abroad: Migrant Women Entrepreneurs
Investigates structural barriers, transnational capital flows and identity in migrant women’s enterprise pathways.
04
Brewing Value: Spent Coffee Grounds into Mycelium-Based Products
University–industry collaboration developing circular bio-manufacturing pathways for sustainable materials and food innovation.
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Meet the Community (coming soon)
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Contact Us
Want to learn more?
Contact us today.