What do the pictures we hang on our walls say about us?

I ask because I’ve been to several dining halls of Oxford Colleges and the pictures there are a dead giveaway about what matters and who matters.

In most colleges, founded for male undergraduates, grumpy portraits of dead white men, blackened by centuries of candle smoke look down on the students; and the old men often wear the badges of power because they laid down the law for others to follow.

One Oxford College has rung the changes this academic year. Hertford installed a whole new set of faces to look over the shoulders of students when they break bread in the Great Hall. To celebrate the 40th year since the college first admitted female undergraduates, the men wearing chains of office and other bling have been carted off the walls – previous principals of the College, famous alumni, men in armour and centuries old clerics.

In their places are 21 photos of female graduates and fellows nominated by staff and students. The images are not in colour, but in black and white to emphasise the character of each person and not her costume.

Hanging above the centre of High Table is a portrait of Shahnaz Ahsan. Her story illuminates the power of this project. “My grandfather arrived in Britain as an economic migrant in 1956. He worked in the grey factories of Manchester before opening a grocery store and eventually his own restaurant.

Although my grandfather had no formal education and could not read or write, he placed great emphasis on academic success for his children and grandchildren. He did not live to see my two sisters and me graduate from Oxford University, but I wonder if he had ever imagined that in just two generations such a thing might have been possible.”

College fellow Emma Smith curated the exhibition. “We haven’t gone for our most famous, most successful or richest. They’re not necessarily intended to be aspirational figures – they’re just some individuals who have done some interesting things.

“If you see yourself as a forward-looking and free-thinking college, as Hertford does, then it is important to have visible symbols of your difference. That is what these portraits should be.”

Sarah Crompton, arts editor in chief of The Daily Telegraph, sat for one of the portraits. “It is certainly true that we women do change the feel of the place. For one thing, we all appear pretty happy. We look as if we might actually have enjoyed our time at university and gained something from it. We gaze gently down on the diners; none of us is the slightest bit stern.

“Nearly all of the old portraits showed people whose success had been confined to college; they were academics and clerics in a narrow sphere. Most of (the new) photographs capture women, whatever our merits or demerits, who have achieved outside Oxford; the university gave us a base from which to spring.”

Claire Blake, Hertford development manager – alumni relations, pointed out that the exhibition is in the Dining Hall because that is the heart of the college, She said: “We wanted to put it at the centre of college life and make it very accessible. This story is not just about gender. It’s about aspiration for our current students regardless of gender.”

Principal Will Hutton took up the narrative: “We hope that the range of people represented here will be inspiring to current and future students, as we continue our work to encourage under-represented groups to consider Hertford.”

How does it work for the students? I talked to Rebecca Grant, the Junior Common Room women’s rep: “The old portraits were random clerics and we really didn’t know who they were. The atmosphere was intimidating, exclusive and old. This is just a simple accessible statement. Most of the women are still alive, which is cool because it’s easier to aspire to become like them. I was never going to be a 16th century cleric.”

Dan Hewett, a second year English student, argued that the exhibition prioritised the current students over the weight of history and shows there are different criteria for becoming successful.

The tide of success seems to be flowing in Hertford’s direction. On another front the college is the first “living wage accredited” Oxford college. From last November, after a campaign by undergraduates, the college policy is now to pay each employee at least £1.50 per hour more than the national minimum wage to bring them into the land of the “living wage” to enjoy a better life.

So, what else does Hertford have up its collective sleeves? What will happens at the end of this academic year when the current magnificent exhibition of Hertford women comes down?