Barbara Read

Professor Barbara Read is a sociologist of education and currently holds the position of Professor of Education at the School of Education, University of Glasgow. She previously served as Senior Lecturer at the Department of Education, Roehampton University (2007-2012) and Research Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Education, London Metropolitan University (2001-2007). She earned a PhD in Sociology from the University of Bristol, an MA in Women's Studies from the University of Kent at Canterbury, and a BA (Hons) in Ancient History and Social Anthropology from University College London.

• Current roles: Deputy Director of Research for the School of Education and member of the University Senate
• Editor of the British Educational Research Journal

Her research focuses on gender and educational cultures in higher education, academic work inequalities, STEM subject participation, and the intersectionality of gender, class, and race. She has conducted international studies on student experiences, precarity in academia, and cross-cultural educational policies.

Recent publications highlight themes such as gendered precarity in academia, STEM student well-being, and exclusion of racialized international students. She has led major grants including the £986k Gendered Journeys project (2020-2023) and the EGHE Network examining gender dynamics in STEM education across multiple countries.

Professor Read supervises numerous PhD and EdD students, mentoring research on decolonizing education, gender in STEM, and pedagogical competencies. She actively contributes to academic governance, editorial boards, and international networks addressing educational equity and policy.