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Know Your Place

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About this listen

 The chance of Cameron and Johnson going to Oxford and becoming MPs was one in 10,000, whereas it was close to one in 10 million for me - 10 times more unlikely than getting struck by lightning. Why should anyone have to work 1,000 times harder to do the same thing as anyone else? And why would we set society up to work this way?

Dr Faiza Shaheen is a self-confessed stats geek and social mobility success story: from a working class background, she got into Oxford and is now a leading statistician, ceo of CLASS thinktank, and a visiting professor at NYU. But when her mother died after her benefits were cut by austerity measures, she decided to embark on a career in politics. When she lost in the 2019 election to incumbent Iain Duncan Smith, Shaheen decided to reframe her story, and set her own narrative against the statistics she researches.

The result is Know Your Place: how society sets us up to fail - part memoir, part polemic, this is a personal and statistical look at how society is built, the people it leaves behind, and what we can do about it. For readers of Invisible Women and Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race, this is a compelling and insightful read which will change the way we think about opportunity in Britain.©2023 Faiza Shaheen. All rights reserved. (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, UK. All Rights Reserved. Racism & Discrimination Social Classes & Economic Disparity Social Sciences Sociology Discrimination Economic disparity Socialism Capitalism Taxation Social justice Economic Inequality

Critic reviews

‘A stunning and devastating indictment of a society scarred and defined by inequality, by one of the most charismatic and compelling voices in politics today’ (Owen Jones)
‘Faiza’s work is living proof that you don’t have to choose between focusing on class and battling racism, or to triangulate on hate in order to advance a political cause. She’s a testament to the power of rising with your community, and not out of it’ (Ash Sarkar)
‘A brilliant, forensic and also very personal analysis of how unfair life is in the most economically unequal country in Europe – giving power a strong dose of truth’ (Professor Danny Dorling, University of Oxford)
‘In this impassioned and thoughtful book, Faiza Shaheen dismantles the myth of meritocracy and compellingly shows that we need to fundamentally challenge the unsustainable and unjust inequalities that abound in Britain today’ (Professor Mike Savage, London School of Economics)
All stars
Most relevant
An excellent book that we all should be able to identify with deep down. Well done Faiza.

Something we all know deep down

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Brilliant research and reason to help you deconstruct your mind of all the false narratives that have been taught as fact for years that keep things unfair and you in your place. Learn, rectify and resist!

An outstanding vision of the future we want, deserve & need

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Great book. Well argued.

You hear the passion, excitement and frustrations.

A politician who is actually for the people!!

Brilliant!!

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