Heidi Mirza is a professor of Race, Faith and Culture at Goldsmiths College University of London. As one of the first black women professors in Britain, she is internationally known for her pioneering research on race, gender and identity in education.

She uses postcolonial and black feminist theoretical frameworks to explore social exclusion, human rights and equality issues for Muslim, Black and minority ethnic women. She has researched widely on the experiences of young Black and Asian women in school and processes of racialisation in higher education. Her recent work explores multicultural education, citizenship, and cultural and religious difference, including Islamophobia and gendered violence.

She is the author of several best-selling books including, Young Female and Black; Black British Feminism; Race Gender and Educational Desire: Why black women succeed and fail and most recently Respecting Difference: Race, Faith, and Culture for Teacher Educators.