Equity, diversity and inclusion

Postgraduate researcher, Clare Matysova (University of Leeds), is interviewed by Emily Humphreys (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), as part of the Business School’s Research and Innovation podcast series for International Women’s Day 2023. In this episode, Emily and Clare discuss how the gender pay gap is linked with parental leave, the difference between inequalities and inequities within parental leave, and what practical solutions the government and employers should be considering to make parental leave more equitable. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/296/international_womens_day_2023_research_podcast_series

About the speakers: 

Clare Matysova is a postgraduate researcher in the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change at the University of Leeds, focusing on gender equality and exploring the impact of the UK’s shared parental leave policy from the perspective of couples’ decision-making. Clare also currently works as a Senior Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Partner at the University of Aberdeen. She has been working in EDI-related roles within HE for the past 15 years. Previously, she worked at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the University of East London and the University for the Creative Arts.   

Emily Humphreys is a part-time PhD student in social epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She also works part-time in public health, with experience in policy development and interests in mental health, wellbeing and health inequalities. She is particularly interested in how local or national government policies can affect health outcomes. She joined LSHTM as a research student in September 2021. Her research is investigating how changes to maternity, paternity and parental leave policies in the UK might have affected mental health for parents.

The inequities within parental leave

Professor Jennifer Tomlinson speaks to Dr Jack Daly about his research that explores the role of men and masculinity in the gender pay gap, focusing on the legal and financial professions. They discuss how the gender pay gap can’t solely be closed by providing equal opportunities for women when careers remain structured in a way that disproportionately favours male behaviours and traits. 

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.  https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/296/international_womens_day_2023_research_podcast_series

About the speakers: Dr Jack Daly is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in Work and Employment Relations. His research focuses on equality, diversity and inclusion in traditionally male-dominated industries, with a specific interest in the role of men as resistance to and facilitators of inclusive working practices.  

Jennifer Tomlinson is Professor of Gender and Employment Relations at the Centre for Employment Relations, Innovation and Change. Her research focuses on gender and social inequalities in organisational, occupational and labour market contexts.

The gender pay gap in the financial and legal services: why equal opportunities aren’t enough

Dr Asiya Islam (Leeds University Business School) is joined by Nishi Khandelwal (Nirantar) to discuss their research project on gender inequalities in digital India, exploring digital literacy, access and use. Asiya and Nishi also talk about the work Nirantar does, as well as the intersection between location (rural and urban), caste and gender when it comes to digital literacy in India. 

Read the working paper: https://digit-research.org/publication/gender-inequalities-in-digital-india-a-survey-on-digital-literacy-access-and-use/  

Visit the project webpage. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/dir-record/research-projects/1946/gender-digital-technology-and-the-future-of-work-in-india  

This podcast episode was recorded remotely in March 2023. If you would like to get in touch regarding this podcast, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.    

About the speakers: Asiya Islam is Lecturer in Work and Employment Relations. Her research interests are in gender, class, emerging forms of work, particularly service work, and feminist research methods. 

Nishi Khandelwal heads the Women’s Literacy, Education, and Empowerment work at Nirantar, where she plays a crucial role in visualizing and planning the women's education programme, and training project staff and teachers of partner organisations. She is interested in researching issues around digital literacy of women and young girls to further strengthen their literacy and digital literacy skills.

Gender inequalities in digital India

In this episode, Drs Bianca Orsi, Peter Hughes and Juliane Scheffel talk about their project “WISE - Women into Studying Economics” - a research project that is tackling the gender imbalance in economics. They discuss why so few women choose to study economics, the stereotypes that discourage them, and the impact a lack of diversity in the field has on policy and society. Through school visits and conversations with students, the team is uncovering key barriers and working to change perceptions.  
 
Visit the project webpage. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/faculty/dir-record/research-projects/2060/women-into-studying-economics-wise

This episode was recorded on 26th February 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available. https://business.leeds.ac.uk/downloads/download/355/podcast-transcript---addressing-the-gender-gap-in-economics

About the speakers: 

Dr Bianca Orsi is a lecturer in economics at Leeds University Business School. Her main research interests are on monetary policy, monetary policy transmission mechanism, inflation, capital controls, interest rate, exchange rate, currency internationalization and currency hierarchy, financial integration.  
https://business.leeds.ac.uk/departments-economics/staff/556/dr-bianca-orsi 
 
Dr Peter Hughes is also a lecturer in economics at Leeds University Business School. His areas of expertise are: monetary economics, behavioural economics, institutional economics, money, history of economic thought, and economic methodology. 
https://business.leeds.ac.uk/departments-economics/staff/127/dr-peter-t-hughes 
 
Dr Juliane Scheffel is an associate professor in economics at the Business School. Her research interests are in: labour economics, development economics, migration, education, and elderly care. 
https://business.leeds.ac.uk/departments-economics/staff/141/dr-juliane-scheffel  

Addressing the gender gap in economics

Professor Nick Williams speaks to Dr Lee Wainwright about Lee’s research on how restorative entrepreneurship can empower marginalised individuals to reclaim social and economic standing. They discuss ableist workplace norms, the parallels between societal treatment of disabled individuals and other marginalised groups, and recommendations for creating a more inclusive workplace. 

This episode was recorded on 5th March 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

Read the book: The Routledge Companion to Disability and Work, Edited by Oana Branzei, Anica Zeyen. Lee Wainwright’s chapter: Disability and Restoration Work. 

About the speakers: Nick Williams is Professor of Entrepreneurship at Leeds University Business School. His research mainly focuses on entrepreneurship in challenging contexts, and he has particular interests in the role of entrepreneurial activity in crises. Lee Wainwright is a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship Studies at Leeds University Business School. His research focuses on how entrepreneurship can act as a process to take people out of restrictive or oppressive contexts. 

Challenging ableism in the workplace through restorative entrepreneurship

Leeds University Business School’s Research and Innovation podcast brings you insights from our expert researchers. From the future of work, to disruptive technologies; green behaviours to emerging markets, we’ll be covering a wide-range of topical issues and novel ideas. 

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If you have any comments regarding any of these episodes, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk.