Victoria Showunmi

Dr Victoria Showunmi serves as Associate Professor at University College London's IOE - Education, Practice & Society, where she has developed a national and international reputation for research on identity, leadership, and intersectionality. Her academic journey includes an EdD in Gender and Education from the University of Sheffield and extensive international collaborations across North America, Brazil, Pakistan, China, Azerbaijan, Ireland, Germany, South Africa and the Caribbean.

Her research spans two interconnected themes: gender, education, leadership and empowerment; and young Black women's experiences in educational contexts. Early career work focused on ethnic minorities in Initial Teacher Training, while current scholarship examines intersectional leadership experiences through projects like Gender and Leadership in Higher Education in Pakistan and Black Girls/Young Black women's experiences in education. Her methodological approach combines qualitative research with decolonial frameworks to address systemic inequities.

Showunmi's publication record demonstrates consistent output across diverse formats including peer-reviewed articles in journals like Frontiers in Sociology and Curriculum Inquiry, edited volumes including the Bloomsbury Gender Handbook on Educational Leadership and Management, and the co-authored book Managing Everyday Racism. Her work consistently centers Black feminist perspectives while addressing broader educational equity concerns across global contexts.

• DAAD Scholarship (2017-2018)
• Women at UCL Award (March 2016)
• Nominated for Woman of the Year
• British Academy funding recipient

As an educator, Showunmi has redesigned multiple programs including the Minority Migrant Refugee module at UCL IOE to incorporate interactive pedagogical approaches. She serves as international visiting scholar teaching Black Feminist Theory and Critical Whiteness Studies across three BA/MA programs in Germany, while designing research writing workshops for women academics in Pakistan. Her leadership extends to editorial roles for International Journal Leadership in Education and IPED, plus advisory positions for EU projects including FIRCE and Cost Action: Gender Voices.