This project investigates the lived experiences of women in teaching-support staff (TSS) roles across IT and software engineering higher education, with a focus on gendered friction scenarios with colleagues and within classroom settings. Funded by the EDI Portfolio, the study draws on qualitative accounts from 15 women in TSS positions to inform practical recommendations for building more inclusive learning and teaching environments in technology-dominated fields.

A key output is an ‘intersectional wheel of privilege and power’ adapted for TSS contexts, demonstrating how staff positioned further from traditional markers of authority – including non-native English speakers, women of colour, and early-career or sessional staff – often undertake greater relational and disciplinary labour to achieve comparable levels of recognition and credibility.

The project has also produced a research paper accepted to the Software Engineering Education and Training (SEET) track at the 48th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE 2026).