Beyond access: what Muslim women can teach universities about inclusion

We often describe universities as inclusive spaces, but building belonging takes more than saying everyone is welcome. It is shaped through everyday experiences: who feels safe speaking up and asking questions and who does not, who sees themselves reflected in campus spaces while others feel invisible, whose perspectives are valued and whose are overlooked or ignored, and who has to work harder to feel recognised.

My recent research with Muslim female students and staff at London universities explored these experiences through walking interviews and participatory photography. While every participant’s story was different, one message emerged consistently: inclusion is not simply about who enters university. It is about what happens once they arrive.

Here are four lessons institutions can take from their experiences.

1. Treat campus spaces as part of the learning environment

Physical environments matter. They communicate powerful messages about belonging.

Muslim women I interviewed reflected on everything from classrooms and prayer rooms to artwork, signage and informal social spaces. These all influenced whether they felt visible, welcomed or marginalised.

One interviewee, a master’s student, photographed portraits displayed prominently in a university building of previous senior leaders and reflected on how difficult it was to see herself and fellow students represented in institutional spaces. Others commented on the location of prayer rooms, often in basements with no natural light, behind locked doors and at times positioned near the student bar. 

Interestingly, for many, the physical space of the university was something they often chose to escape, seeking nature in local parks and green spaces which were seen to be devoid of hierarchy, daily scrutiny and need to justify their presence.

Universities can begin by asking practical questions:

• Do campus environments reflect the diversity of those who study and work there? 
• Which spaces encourage community, and which unintentionally exclude?

Are faith spaces visible, accessible and appropriately located for those who wish to use them? And how does their position within the geography of the institution communicate a level of acceptance and being welcome? For example, are they located in basements, hidden, away from sight in the least desirable spaces on campus? Are considerations made about the proximity of prayer rooms to spaces that perhaps may be at odds with people practising a faith? Or are they woven into the campus design as a central part of its diverse community, celebrated and signposted clearly for all to see?

Small design decisions can have a significant impact on how people experience university life.

2. Visibility should lead to influence, not just representation

Many Muslim women I interviewed felt simultaneously visible and invisible.

They reflected on being frequently invited to contribute to diversity campaigns or speak about their experiences specifically through the lens of their Muslim identities in what they described as a “tick-box exercise” for their university’s marketing agenda. Yet, they shared their frustrations of being treated as a homogeneous group whose differences and diversities are often ignored and who are overlooked in decision-making, teaching and everyday academic life. Representation matters, but meaningful inclusion and engagement goes further.

We encourage a move beyond asking Muslim women to represent diversity and create meaningful opportunities for them to shape the institution itself – for example, through curriculum review, policy development and decision-making groups. Involve them early enough to influence outcomes, show clearly how their contributions have led to change, and importantly, recognise the time and expertise involved. 

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3. Recognise the invisible work that sustains belonging

Many Muslim women I interviewed provide informal mentoring, pastoral support and advocacy for others like them. They felt a sense of responsibility to support students or more junior staff because they lacked such support in the past.

This work creates important communities of care, particularly for students and early career researchers who might otherwise feel isolated.

Yet this contribution often sits outside formal workload models, promotion criteria and recognition systems.

Importantly, interviewees acknowledged that they were not alone in doing this work, and that other female and marginalised colleagues felt these same burdens and responsibilities, and often asked, if not them, then who?

Institutions should ask themselves: 

How is this work recognised? 

• Why are we relying on goodwill to deliver inclusion? 
• Whose shoulders should this responsibility fall to? 
• What can universities do to support this additional work?

Practical steps might include allocating workload for inclusion activity, actively recognising it in appraisal and promotion, and making senior leaders accountable for delivering inclusion work rather than relying on the goodwill of marginalised colleagues.

Supporting belonging should not depend solely on the unpaid labour of those who experience exclusion themselves.

4. Build on communities that already exist

In the absence of spaces provided for them, the Muslim women I interviewed create spaces of belonging through peer support, mentoring and shared experiences.

These communities demonstrate resilience, generosity and leadership. They become counterspaces: spaces created by and for marginalised groups where people can bring their whole selves without scrutiny or suspicion and can express experiences and identities that may otherwise be questioned, constrained or overlooked in the wider institution. Equally important are joy and celebration of achievements and successes despite everyday challenges.

Rather than attempting to create entirely new initiatives, leaders should take note of such existing community spaces and ask how they can support members while protecting their autonomy.

Moving beyond access

We build belonging through everyday practices: the spaces we design, the work we recognise, the voices we listen to and the action we take to enable people to influence their institutions.

If universities want to move beyond access, they should start by asking not simply who is here, but who feels they belong.

Amena Amer is a lecturer based at the Thomas Coram Research Unit at UCL’s Social Research Institute.

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