The director of the Centre for Labour and Social Studies wants to shape a new society in which a more diverse range of voices are heard

Dr Faiza Shaheen is an economist, writer, activist and director of the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (Class), described by her as “a thinktank with a twist”. Founded four years ago, its remit, she says, is “to disrupt and challenge mainstream thinking” while staying out of the current Corbyn/Brexit pro or anti quagmire.

“I took a friend into a bookshop recently and said, ‘Look at the books on economics – almost all are written by white men from a similar income group. The books on gender are all written by women, the books on race by people of colour.’ I’m really keen that both myself and Class break out of these intellectual ghettos, that we work on issues that change the situation, that turn off the tap, not just mop up the mess. Five years from now, I want Class to be the leading voice on how we shape a different kind of society.”

Shaheen, 34, was born in Leytonstone, east London, and attended the same school as David Beckham. “Only a third [of pupils] got five GCSEs A* to C. You only had to do your homework to stand out but we had a real camaraderie,” she says. “Oxford wasn’t like that at all. Everyone was in competition. I looked at the stats recently and there are still only a handful of people of colour in each year, just as when I was there. That’s shocking. It’s always the same pool of people ruling the world in politics and business. That has to change.

I realised very young that nobody was going to open any doors for me

“Oxford politicised me because I was always being called to account. ‘Why do Muslims have a chip on their shoulder, Faiza?’ I became known as the rude girl with attitude, which is hilarious because my friends in London said they liked me precisely because that’s what I wasn’t.

“I realised very young that nobody was going to open any doors for me. If you’re going to fight for justice you have to have weapons and I decided that education, economics and statistics were going to be mine.”

Shaheen’s father is from Fiji, her mother is Pakistani. “A concern about inequality and justice has always been a part of me. Whether it was the result of being called Paki in the playground or because while we were considered poor by British standards, when we visited family in Karachi we were seen as insanely rich.”

Ten years ago, when Shaheen began a PhD, her mother became ill. Two months ago, she had a successful heart transplant. “I thought it was amazing that someone gave her their heart. They didn’t ask if she was Pakistani. In the intensive care waiting room everyone looked out for each other regardless of race and class. It reminded me that there is a huge amount of humanity in spite of the horrible political time we’ve had.”

Three more to watch

■ Among a number of other admirable roles, Josh Babarinde is CEO and founder of Cracked It, a social enterprise that trains at-risk young people to fix cracked iPhones, as a route away from gang crime.

■ Working on a PhD on domestic violence, Sarah Kwei is one of the founders of Sisters Uncut, using direct action to fight cuts to refuges and domestic violence services. Also active in social housing groups.

■ Deanne Ferguson, 32, regional organiser in Yorkshire and Derbyshire for trade union GMB, is active in challenging conditions at the Barnsley distribution centre for Asos and the £10 an hour living wage campaign.