Table Of Content“This book is a must-read for anyone interested in British Bangladeshi women
in higher education. Based on an in-depth study of 21 young women attending
a wide range of higher education institutions in Britain, the book is filled with
important insights. The careful research demonstrates the diversity and complexity
of British Bangladeshi women’s perspectives and life experiences.”
Prof. Natasha Warikoo, Professor of Sociology,
Tufts University, USA
“This book provides a unique insight into the inequities in higher education and
employment experienced by women of Bangladeshi origin. Scandone draws on
a rich data set to artfully present a compelling argument about the intersectional
nature of social mobility and disadvantage in the UK.”
Prof. Nicola Ingram, Director of the Education and Social Research
Institute, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
“This is an important book adding a unique voice to literature on inequalities in
higher education/employment. Scandone provides a robust critique of individualising
narratives accounting for these inequalities. Supported by rich qualitative data,
Scandone outlines an intersectional account of the origins of these inequalities and
the mechanisms of their reproduction.”
Dr. Ciaran Burke, Associate Professor in Higher Education,
University of West England
BRITISH-BANGLADESHI WOMEN
IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Drawing on primary qualitative research, this book explores the experiences and
identities of a group of British-born women of Bangladeshi background attending
university in London through a Bourdieusian theoretical framework.
It demonstrates the inequities that these women experience in UK higher
education and employment as well as how they challenge them. This book presents
stories that illuminate the diversity of views and experiences marked by dynamics
of class, race, ethnicity, religion and gender. These stories reveal family projects of
social mobility and discourses of aspiration, the multiple resources and constraints
that influence decisions, experiences and pathways, and the mutual construction of
different dimensions of identification and tensions between them.
Through participants’ narratives, the book tackles wider questions around
fair access to education and employment, social mobility and the (re)production
and transformation of social inequities. The book will be of interest to scholars
and students in the fields of Youth, Education, Race/Ethnicity and Migration
Sociology, as well as community and education practitioners and anyone with an
interest in multi-ethnic societies and young people’s histories.
Berenice Scandone is Research Director at the National Centre for Social
Research in London. She is passionate about understanding and redressing
social inequities, especially as they materialise in and through education. Her
research interests include intersecting inequities of class, ethnicity and gender, the
intergenerational integration of immigrants, education policy and the sociology of
education.
Routledge Research in Gender and Society
98 The Social Science of Same-Sex Marriage
LGBT People and Their Relationships in the Era of Marriage Equality
Edited by Aaron Hoy
99 Inequalities and the Paradigm of Excellence in Academia
Edited by Fiona Jenkins, Barbara Hoenig, Susanne Maria Weber
and Andrea Wolffram
100 Gender and the Politics of Disaster Recovery
Dealing with the Aftermath
Edited by Sajal Roy
101 A Community of Practice Approach to Improving Gender
Equality in Research
Edited by Rachel Palmén and Jörg Müller
102 Debates Around Abortion in the Global North
Europe, North America, Russia and Asia
Edited By Fabienne Portier-Le Cocq
103 Men and Welfare
Edited by Anna Tarrant, Laura Way and Linzi Ladlow
104 British-Bangladeshi Women in Higher Education
Edited by Berenice Scandone
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/Routledge-
Research-in-Gender-and-Society/book-series/SE0271
BRITISH-BANGLADESHI
WOMEN IN HIGHER
EDUCATION
Aspirations, Inequities and Identities
Berenice Scandone
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Berenice Scandone
The right of Berenice Scandone to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-14754-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-14753-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-24093-8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003240938
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To my father Paolo, whom I love and miss dearly. To my mother
Etta and my partner Gianni, without whose encouragement,
help and cookery skills this book would not have been possible.
To our daughter Myrta, who has not yet arrived but is already
filling our lives with joy.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements xii
1 Introduction 1
Scope and aims of the book 1
Bangladeshi migration to the UK 2
Inequities in employment and education 6
Research methods 9
Chapters outline 13
References 15
2 Bourdieu, social change and intersectionality 20
Introduction 20
Bourdieu’s theory of practice as sociological method 20
Field 21
Capitals 22
Habitus 24
A relational understanding of practice 26
Understanding social change 27
Accounting for intersecting inequities 32
Conclusions 37
References 38
3 Career aspirations, expectations and pathways 41
Introduction 41
Aspirations, social identities and access to capital 42
