Higher education is not a neutral space. It is built on longstanding histories of classism, elitism and exclusion. Universities in the UK were not designed for the working class, just as they were not designed for many other under-represented and marginalised groups, such as women, people of the global ethnic majority and people with disabilities.

Widening participation has expanded access to students from under-represented backgrounds. But whether the same has happened for those employed within universities remains difficult to establish as data on socioeconomic background for academics is not routinely collected. Structural and systemic inequalities persist in the higher education workforce, shaping who is able to enter, stay, and progress, and who feels they belong and matter.

For those from working-class and other marginalised backgrounds, the pathways through higher education can still be difficult to navigate. The qualities and behaviour that universities associate with success have traditionally reflected middle-class values and expectations.

Our academic research has been informed and motivated by our working-class lives. Iona’s on the experiences of working-class academics and Jackie’s on the career trajectories of women in academia – focuses on........

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