Fiona Mackay

Fiona is Professor of Politics and director of genderED - the University’s interdisciplinary hub for gender and sexualities studies. She served as Dean and Head of the School of Social and Political Science (2014-2017) and Director of its Graduate School (2009-12). Fiona is a graduate of University of Edinburgh (PhD 1996) and University of Manchester (BA(Hons) Politics and Modern History 1990). She was an adult returner to Higher Education having previously worked for ten years as a journalist in print and broadcast media. Fiona’s research and teaching is in the area of politics and gender. She is particularly interested in political representation, public policy and gendered institutional change. She has provided research advice to a number of organisations ranging from the Scottish parliament to UN Women. In 2019 she was awarded a Career Achievement Award by the European Conference on Politics and Gender and, in 2020, was recipient of the University's Susan Manning Award for Inspiring Mentor. She is Honorary Secretary and Trustee of the Political Studies Association, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the UK Academy of Social Sciences.