Ruth Lister, Baroness Lister of Burtersett

Who is Ruth Lister, Baroness Lister of Burtersett?

Margot Ruth Aline Lister, Baroness Lister of Burtersett, CBE generally known as Ruth Lister, was born on 3 May 1949 to Dr Werner Bernard and Daphne Lister. She attended a private school and then the University of Essex, from which she graduated with a BA in sociology, and continued to an MA in multi-racial studies from the University of Sussex. She has also received honorary doctorates from the universities of Manchester, Essex and Glasgow Caledonian University. After completing her MA she went to work for the Child Poverty Action Group.

Ruth Lister is currently Professor of Social Policy at Loughborough University. She has written or contributed to a number of books, pamphlets and articles on poverty, social security and women’s citizenship.

In the 1999 Birthday Honours she was made a Commander of the British Empire and in 2009 she became a Fellow of the British Academy. She was appointed to the House of Lords as a Life Peer on 31 January 2011 as Baroness Lister of Burtersett, of Nottingham in the County of Nottinghamshire. She sits as a member of the Labour Party.