The Diverse Bookshelf
Welcome to The Diverse Bookshelf. I’m Samia Aziz, celebrating the power of literature and the voices of authors and change makers from the global majority. Join me as we explore the stories that inspire, connect, and transform our world. Each week I interview an inspiring guest about a whole host of themes and issues while focusing on diverse literature.
Let’s uncover the stories that truly matter—together.
The Diverse Bookshelf
Ep44: Faiza Shaheen on the myth of social mobility & the future
On this week's episode, I chat to the wonderful Faiza Shaheen, author of Know Your Place, which is part-memoir, and part-research-based analysis about class in the UK. In the book, Faiza discusses her own working-class background, and the effects of austerity on her family, especially her mother who was relying on benefits due to her health. She breaks down the very many things in society which helped her to graduate from the University of Oxford, including a state-school system with good teachers, a welfare state system, and free universal healthcare. But she also breaks down how a person from a working class background has to work up to 4,000 times harder to succeed, due to the structure of our system.
We explore some big questions about social justice, social mobility and equality and fairness in the UK, talking about Faiza's political career, research and insights. We break down what we really mean by social mobility, and what really matters when it comes to representation in government.
Dr. Faiza Shaheen is an economist, writer, and commentator. She is the author of a range of materials and publications covering the most salient social and economic debates of our times, including inequality, austerity, immigration, youth unemployment and social mobility. Faiza has over 15 years of experience researching the trends and consequences of inequality, as well as designing policies and campaigns to address the causes of inequality and exclusion.
In 2017, Faiza was named the Observer Rising Star for Campaigning, nominated as Asian Woman of the Year and included in the Top 100 Influencers on the Left list in the UK.
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