This is an exploration of how higher education in contemporary Britain has responded to questions of equal opportunuties (particularly questions of race), what types of responses have been made, and how effective they have been. The book analyzes the political character of equal opportunities policies, the process of their formation and the structure put in place to implement them. Foregrounding research dilemmas, the author draws upon four university case studies, using both equal opportunities documents and interviews with key personnel. She focuses on the institutional discourses which surround equal opportunities in the universities and is concerned not only with their treatment of the issues, but also with the positions taken up by academic trade unions.