The walls of Oxford colleges are lined with the pictures of lots of men in gowns. But the university is busy commissioning paintings of women, gay and black people to counter its elitist male image, according to the Sunday Times.

One alumna newly selected for display is American feminist author Naomi Wolf, whose photo is to go up shortly. "If all you see are white men, white men, white men," she commented, "it is very hard to believe that people in your society think you have a place in history."