Dr. Jummy Okoya, a distinguished academic and thought leader, is making waves in the fields of equity, diversity, and inclusion. With over 25 years of experience in academia and leadership roles, she serves as the Dean of the Office for Institutional Equity at the University of East London. Her groundbreaking work has not only earned her a spot as one of the top 50 inspirational Black women in the UK but also established her as a vital voice in reshaping institutional cultures. In this interview, with Esther Onyegbula, Okoya shares her journey, challenges, and actionable insights on equity and inclusion. From addressing systemic barriers in Nigerian institutions to redefining leadership in UK universities, she offers lessons drawn from a life of relentless dedication and servant leadership.

With over 25 years of experience, what inspired you to focus on creating positive and inclusive cultures in academia and beyond?

I was inspired to focus on creating positive and inclusive cultures in academia and beyond because I find myself In many spaces where I am often the only Black female senior academic and the agitations of the upcoming junior academic who share their career frustrations with me. I also know from research that creating the right environment is a precondition for employees to thrive, inclusive culture is like having the right soil for your plants to flourish. In my 25 years in academia, I have had the good fortunes of having some inclusive leaders who made it their mission to see everyone progress irrespective of their gender, race or other characteristics. That ignited my passion and commitment to do the same for others by championing equity and speaking up against discriminatory practices.

Can you share key lessons from your work as Dean of the Office for Institutional Equity at the University of East London?

There are many lessons I have learnt in my role as the Dean of Office for Institutional Equity, but the key lessons have to be the importance of conscious inclusion and influencing key stakeholders and carrying everyone along whilst listening to different groups within your ecosystem in order to achieve your objectives.

Conscious inclusion is about having an inclusion strategy embedded in the business strategy and embracing it as a critical success factor for the business. In implementing the inclusion strategy, it is important to set targets which act as stimulus and provide the roadmap for the desired organisational objectives.

Influencing different stakeholders is another important lesson I learnt because my role involves influencing key decision makers to support inclusion initiatives whilst also influencing bottom up by engaging with different groups within our ecosystem (students, staff, local community)

Listening to different groups helps you identify the pain points of different groups, you cannot effectively support a group without listening. The biggest mistake we can make is for us to believe we know what a group needs without consulting them.

Carrying people along is about developing bespoke interventions based on listening and providing progress updates. To carry them along, we must be prepared to ask difficult questions and act on the answers particularly when it challenges what we believe.

Adaptability to external influences and proactively responding gracefully to the changes required in order to serve the needs of our communities. For example at the university of East London, during exams season we provide psychological support for students who may be experiencing stress or feeling overwhelmed, Iftar prayers for our Muslim community during Ramadan, we have different staff affinity networks which provides informal support for their constituencies.

As one of the top 50 inspirational Black women in the UK, what challenges have you faced in your career, and how did you overcome them?

One of my life’s philosophies is that Challenges are opportunities in disguise which requires us to extract the lessons in the challenge. An ongoing challenge for me has always been balancing my multiple roles of being a mum to my 3 adult children, a busy executive role with a huge portfolio, community engagement and leadership responsibilities in my church. Recognising that I have embraced radical prioritisation and the willingness to change my mind when needed.

We all face Career challenges especially as you move into senior roles, however one of the challenge that stands out for me as a Black woman in academia in the U.K is the tension between being research active, staying on top of my multifaceted role and maintaining external leadership engagement which to be honest is an opportunity to give back but also present learning and growth opportunities.

My faith is the anchor of my being, I find confidence and resilience in responding to challenges through planning, reaching out to others, working with my coach and of course prayers and devotion to God.

Why is it essential to address the underrepresentation of Black professors in UK universities, and what actionable steps should institutions take?

It is important to address the underrepresentation of Black profs in the UK because we know that representation matters and having someone who looks like you in senior roles gives upcoming junior academics hope and confidence that they can be in that role in future. Just as businesses strive to ensure their staff reflect the customer base they serve, academic institutions have a responsibility to mirror the population of Black people in senior leadership.
I recently launched my report at the House of Lords titled creating equity, inclusion and belonging in higher education. This seminal work provides the BRIDGE (Building recognisable inclusion, diverse growth and equity) framework which organisations can use to devise and implement their inclusion strategy from start to finish. There are several actionable steps in the report.

Actionable steps

Provide structured support for Black academics in the form of mentoring and sponsorship

Ensure there is a clear career pathway and crystal clear criteria so they can develop their career strategy to meet those requirements.

Conduct regular equality impact assessment after promotion to analyse the data and identify which groups are being promoted and which ones are left behind.

Provide opportunity for leadership experience for Black academics and tap them on the shoulders to be part of career advancing projects.

Growing up in Nigeria, how did your background and experiences shape your passion for equity, diversity, and inclusion?

Growing up in Nigeria developed an ingrained commitment to a brutal commitment to a top notch work ethic, not leaving anyone behind and the relentless focus for success. As a child I remember seeing my parents who were very well to do but made it a regular practice to give to the less privileged, this was a non-negotiable for them and identifying with different communities. We were taught to relate with the affluent and the less fortunate to appreciate the ebbs and flows of life. Selfless giving and supporting the younger generation to find their foot in the career ladder.

Many Nigerians in the diaspora achieve remarkable milestones. How has your Nigerian heritage influenced your approach to leadership and academia?

My Nigerian heritage has influenced my approach to leadership and academia because as a first child with 5 other siblings I was taught the ethos of servant leadership from a young age, to eat last, care for everyone and to strive for excellence. In striving for excellence, I was told that my success isn’t mine alone but for the whole community, this gives me the extra boost to go the extra mile and when I fail, it’s my entire tribe that I am letting down. That pressure acted as the fire that ignited my relentless focus to succeed.

What lessons from your work in the UK can be applied to Nigeria’s academic and organizational landscape?

Creating inclusive culture and providing an environment for equitable outcomes for your employees is universal. So one of the lessons from my work is for any organisation or academic institution to keep asking themselves these questions: Are we creating the right conditions for everyone (women, aged workers, disabled, LGBTQ+ community) to succeed? How can we create a culture that empowers our staff to contribute and promote diversity of thoughts?

Leadership development programmes must be developed with specific groups in mind and ensuring senior leaders have at least one KPI objective measuring how well they have supported inclusion within their department.

In Nigeria, there is a growing call for gender equity in leadership. How can Nigerian institutions create more opportunities for women in academia and beyond?

To improve gender equity in leadership, organisations and academic institutions must start with addressing the pipeline, building the strongest pipeline of women coming into the institution gives them a fair chance to increase female representation. Then the issue of organisational culture, this is a more pernicious problem, as national culture can be reflected in organisations. Challenging the paternalistic culture that is prevalent in many organisations by promoting family friendly policies and practices that supports women to keep their career whilst raising their family.

Executive Sponsors appointed to support junior employees with KPIs linked to mentoring and coaching upcoming talents

The representation of Black academics is a global concern. What insights can Nigeria draw from your work to enhance the representation of underrepresented groups in its universities?

Having a strategic plan as to how to build a pipeline by encouraging upcoming talents to come into academia, providing fully funded phd opportunities, ring fencing funds to support undergraduate tuition fees for gifted and talented students.

Commitment to yearly review of promotion processes and practices to identify lessons learnt and develop support systems for each group.

How can we address systemic barriers in Nigerian institutions that hinder progress toward equity and inclusion?

Addressing systemic barriers requires a mindset shift, from maintaining to disrupting the status quo. Those that benefit from the status quo would do anything to continue to protect the system, however leaders need to think of what institutional legacy they wish to leave behind, critically do a gap analysis and be bold to take actions that will include everyone. Data should be collected and analysed to interrogate if there is equitable representation across the board (women, older people, different generation represented in the workforce), who are those being promoted, which tribe do they belong to, which groups are least likely to be promoted, what can we put in place to ensure that they have a fair chance in the next promotion round. To achieve a different set of outcomes, we have to change the way things have always been done, period.