I am the Yorkshire Consortium for Equity in Doctoral Education (YCEDE) Project Manager (PM)—possibly the longest job title in the world!

As a female ethnic minority Sikh from a working-class background in a Yorkshire mining town, I was the first in my family and wider community to pursue Higher Education (HE). Growing up in an environment where progression to university was rare, particularly for women within my cultural context, I became acutely aware of how my background shaped the opportunities available to me. From an early age, I felt compelled to change the system. At 14 years old I applied to an access programme at the University of Sheffield, which sparked my determination to work even harder, believing that HE could be a catalyst for social mobility.

I went on to complete an LLB Law (Hons) degree at The University of Sheffield, followed by my Legal Practice Course (LPC) and Master’s in Law at BPP Law School in Leeds. While my academic foundation is in law, my true passion has always been fairness and equity. I wanted to believe in meritocracy and that hard work alone would be enough for social mobility. However, the reality is that racial inequalities persist, and significant barriers to progression still exist within both education and the workplace.

At a pivotal moment in my career, I was faced with a difficult choice: pursue a legal training contract, which seemed like the expected path after years of study, or follow my passion for equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). In hindsight, I am so glad I chose what truly aligned with my values. University wasn’t just about academics for me, it was about realising the power of opportunity and expanding my aspirations, discovering experiences that people from my background might not typically access.

For nearly 20 years, I have dedicated my career to driving meaningful change. While I have loved working with younger students, supporting widening access initiatives, I also recognise that inequalities in postgraduate research remain deeply entrenched. Through my work with YCEDE, I aim to dismantle barriers at this level, striving to ‘level the playing field’ regardless of background. Equally important is informing prospective students about research careers, not just in academia, but across professional sectors, so they can make empowered and informed decisions. Much like younger students who may lack clarity on the benefits of HE, many potential researchers hesitate simply due to a lack of transparency. I was once one of those students, convinced that research wasn’t accessible to ‘someone like me’. Now that I know it is, I want to help others overcome that barrier.

My lived experiences, coupled with my legal expertise, project management qualifications, and the skills I’ve honed over two decades in the EDI sector, uniquely position me to create lasting impact for underrepresented and marginalised groups and to create belonging.

I am confident that by the end of this project, we will have achieved all of our objectives—and more. Many of our learnings are already being embedded within our five partner Yorkshire universities, ensuring sustainability beyond YCEDE. We are in the process of developing a toolkit to share resources and best practices cultivated over the past three and a half years, making them accessible across the sector to promote a more equitable future.

Through my work with YCEDE, I have expanded my expertise and developed new skills outside the original scope of my role. I thrive on learning something new every day. Some of my most notable skills and achievements include:

• Proven track record of project managing and leading large-scale EDI projects, including budget management of large £4m+ projects, synthesising complex data into reports.

• Skilled in developing and delivering EDI training programmes and facilitating change-management.

• Recognised for EDI initiatives, innovative programme development and fostering collaborative environments that drive impactful, sustainable change.

• Expertise in large scale team management, an inclusive role model and committed to the development and training, mentoring and sponsoring of staff and colleagues.

• Excellent relationship-building skills with internal and external stakeholders, driving cross-institutional collaboration both nationally and internationally- something YCEDE won an Inclusive Impact Award for!

• Mental health first aid trained EDI specialist

• Data driven with strong analytical and evaluation skills.

If you are interested in collaborating with me, please feel free to reach out. As my current project nears completion, I am actively seeking new opportunities, particularly leadership roles where I can continue championing equity, diversity, and inclusion. I can offer consultancy in EDI and well being-focused interventions.