Mahwish Sikander

Mahwish Sikander is a researcher at Queen Mary University of London's School of Business and Management, specializing in critical examinations of diversity and inclusion within academic institutions. Her work centers on the lived experiences of women of colour academics, analyzing how intersecting identities of race and gender shape professional trajectories and emotional well-being in higher education environments.

She completed her PhD at Queen Mary with a research background spanning Organisational Behaviour, Employee Relations, and Critical Management Studies. Her doctoral work employed mixed-methods qualitative approaches grounded in post-racial theory to investigate systemic barriers including exclusionary practices, implicit bias, precarious employment, and marginalization of scholarship. This research revealed how institutional structures govern affective experiences through isolation, hypervisibility, and pressure to overperform.

Mahwish's research interests prioritize Diversity and Inclusion, Gender and Race Studies, and Critical Management Studies, with particular focus on academic career development and equality initiatives. Her work critically assesses university EDI programs through personnel perspectives, exposing gaps between institutional commitments and the daily realities faced by women of colour in academic spaces.

Her recent publications demonstrate consistent thematic focus on intersectional discrimination in academia, using qualitative methodologies to explore workplace violence against ethnic minorities and the psychological impacts of 'whiteness' through Black feminist frameworks. These studies collectively illuminate the emotional and psychological dimensions of systemic barriers in higher education.

As an active member of the Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity (CRED), Mahwish collaborates on interdisciplinary projects addressing equality, diversity, and inclusion challenges across educational and organizational contexts.