Blogs and Publications

Publications

Breakthrough! commissions and publishes research that impacts women of colour, our careers, and our lives at university and beyond. 

Please find links to our publications below: 

The Bangladeshi Women’s Careers Group 2018

Main findings:

• Networking and careers services centre alcohol and men which marginalise women of colour
• Women of colour associate the corporate sector with white privilege
• Experiences of discrimination and marginalisation are expected in classrooms and lectures
• Participants felt apathy towards addressing racial discrimination
• Lack of role models to identify with in academia
• Employer engagement issues: employer skills not understood upon graduation.

Recommendations

• A mobile Women’s Café - not networking!
• Launch a small business kick-starter grant for women of colour
• Need for curriculum review and race audit of classroom dynamics
• Need for School-wide anti-racist training
• Addressing the lack of Bangladeshi women role models through training and support of mentors
• Moving towards assessment portfolios

Racially Minoritised Women Students And Alumni Reflect On Advice And Counselling Services 2023

Read the ACS Summary report here (16 pages)

Read the full report here [PDF 11,148KB] (64 pages)

Main Findings:

• Access to the ACS website and other information and technologies appeared overwhelming.
• The ACS building is hard to locate and the decoration appears not as welcoming or inviting as it could be.
• Mental Health needs of students are not being met - most participants found mental health services inaccessible both online and offline.
• There are barriers to accessing services including low self-esteem and anxiety, distrust, access issues or not requiring support.
• Racial difference in a therapeutic relationship is pre-figured in the mind of the service-user but also it has material impact on what the service user brings to the relationship as well as how white superiority can supress elements of racially minoritized identities and cultural differences.

Recommendations:

• Inclusive service re-design with race and gender in mind
  • Establish a clear strategy to make race and gender a central part of how services are designed, managed, and administered, e.g., Affirmative Action hiring practices.
  • Intersectional reporting should monitor and evaluate how gender, race and class intersect to impact service uptake.
  • Commission further research into understanding the needs and challenges of racially minoritized women.
• Website Content
  • Use accessible layout, terminology, and descriptions that are easily understood by those who have little knowledge of mental health and well-being language.
  • Include a simple one-step booking function on website’s landing page.
• Access and assessment
  • Centralise and triage case assessment so that services across ACS, DDS and other student-centred welfare can be offered as a bespoke package based on the needs of each student.
  • Ask students if they have a preference in terms of who they want to see and work with during their counselling sessions.
• Find the full list of recommendations in the report.