Talat Yaqoob is a Scottish campaigner, researcher, writer and commentator focused on women's equality, anti-racism and intersectional analysis of policy.

Early life and education

Yaqoob was educated at

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...

where she studied psychology, and earned her master's degree in political research at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

with a focus on public participation.

Career and activism

She is an independent consultant and commentator. She launched Pass the Mic in October 2019, an organisation which hosts the first and only directory of women of colour experts in Scotland and which conducts campaigning and research to challenge under-representation and misrepresentation in media and influencing. She was the director of Equate Scotland from 2016 to 2020, working on women's equality across the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors. During this time she conducted and published the first intersectional analysis of women's experiences in STEM in Scotland She is co-founder and chair of the cross-party campaign group Women 50:50. She is also a member of the

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

’s Advisory Council on Women and Girls since 2017 and became co-chair of this council in 2022 with Anna Ritchie Allan. She is a member of Gender Equal Media Scotland and the Royal Society of Edinburgh's Post-COVID-19 Futures Commission.

Awards and fellowships

In 2017 Yaqoob was awarded the Best Blog and Comment category of the Write to End Violence Against Women Awards for her blog 'Just Ignore it'. She was awarded 2018 Outstanding Women of Scotland award from the

Saltire Society The Saltire Society is a membership organisation which aims to promote the understanding of the culture and heritage of Scotland, founded in 1936. The society organises lectures and publishes pamphlets, and presents a series of awards in the fiel ...

. She was made a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

in 2020 and a mural of her was sited in Edinburgh as part of a celebration of women in STEM in 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaqoob, Talat Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish women activists Alumni of Heriot-Watt University Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Year of birth missing (living people) Living people