Reframing educational leadership through equity: embedding the HEI ABC career framework in business and management education

This article presents a research-informed model for equity-led educational leadership in Business and Management. Higher Education (HE) in England is under increasing pressure to widen participation while demonstrating equitable graduate outcomes, yet employability provision often assumes linear progression, mobility and standardised graduate readiness that do not reflect the realities of all learners. Drawing on qualitative research involving n=15 mature British South Asian women and n=6 employers across two Greater Manchester providers, the analysis identifies three interconnected patterns: participation is non-linear, career decision-making is negotiated within relational and cultural contexts and employer expectations concerning mobility, flexibility and availability create structural barriers. Drawing on postmodern feminist, intersectional and bounded-agency perspectives, the article introduces the HEI ABC Career Framework to support programme teams in embedding intersectional agency, aligning academic motivation with career development and designing equitable employer engagement. The framework offers educational leaders a practical, theoretically informed approach to equitable employability.