Maria Villares-Varela

Maria Villares-Varela is an Associate Professor in Sociology and Admissions Tutor at the University of Southampton's Department of Sociology, Social Policy, and Criminology. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Her research focuses on migrant entrepreneurship, work in small firms, gendered experiences of work, and Latin American migration. She previously held roles at the University of Birmingham’s CREME and the University of Oxford’s International Migration Institute.

She teaches modules such as 'Theorising the Social World', 'Social Challenges: Global and Local Action', and 'Race and Ethnicity in Society'. Maria chairs the Gender and Enterprise Network and serves on editorial boards for journals like the International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. She has received a 2018 Highly Commended Award for her work on Latin American immigrant entrepreneurs. She currently supervises three PhD students and accepts applications for further research.

Her external roles include membership in the International Migration Institute and editorial roles across multiple journals. She has been a visiting scholar at institutions like COMPAS (Oxford) and IMES (University of Amsterdam). Her research bridges migration studies, gender theory, and entrepreneurship, emphasizing intersectional and decolonial perspectives.