Mercy Muroki graduated with first class honours from Queen Mary University of London in 2018.
The UK Government has announced that Mercy Muroki, who studied Politics at Queen Mary from 2015 until 2018, will be a member of its Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.
The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities is an independent, cross-government group which will examine inequality in the UK. The Commission will aim to report its findings on the priority areas of health, education, criminal justice and employment by the end of 2020.
Members of the Commission include representatives from the fields of science, education, broadcasting, economics, medicine, policing and community organising. The Commission will be chaired by Dr Tony Sewell, an international education consultant, and will report to the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
Dr Tony Sewell CBE, Chair of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities said: “I am delighted to be chairing this new Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities. I have spent my entire career in education striving to help all students achieve their full potential. I know however that inequality exists, and I am committed to working with my fellow commissioners to understand why.
“Together we will set out recommendations for action across Government, public bodies and the private sector, and will seek to inform a national conversation about race, led by the evidence.”
Mercy Muroki completed her BA in Politics at Queen Mary in 2018. During this time, she received a number of awards for outstanding work, including winning the Political Studies Association undergraduate essay competition in 2018 with her essay Substantive Representation: Ethnic Minority and White Lords’ Participation in Parliamentary Question ‘Debates’ on Ethnic Minority Issues. She is currently reading for a MSc in Comparative Social Policy at Oxford University.
Mercy’s research interests are in the field of factors affecting social mobility and access to education for particularly marginalised and deprived groups in society. She is also interested in how political representation for such groups affects policymaking and has published work in The Political Quarterly Journal on political representation. She is currently a columnist for The Times Red Box and an avid follower of current affairs.
Mercy Muroki said: “I'm delighted to be appointed by the Prime Minister to serve as a Commissioner on the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities. It is an excellent opportunity to move the national conversation on race from abstract words and ideas to meaningful action and policy change.
“I'm excited to be able to put forward the ideas and expertise I've gained from university and work in order to improve national inequalities. As someone who arrived at Queen Mary for my undergraduate degree as a working class single parent just five years ago, I hope I can inspire other young people to aim high.”
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