On the 19th and 20th June 2023 we hosted our 1st Accommodating Diversity in the Workplace conference here at the University of Reading. We wish to thank the Prosperity and Resilience research theme, here at the University of Reading, who kindly funded the conference. This interdisciplinary conference was aimed at academics, practitioners and employers interested in issues of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and their implications for workplace practice. The conference covered a range of topics including women’s health, the gender pay gap, access to elite occupations, parental leave, leadership and disability. It was a thoroughly enjoyable two days with plenty of thought provoking discussion and we wish to thank all the participants, especially the wonderful presenters. You can find the abstracts from all presentations here. We were delighted to hear updates from 3 projects funded by the Nuffield Foundation: Designing inclusive remote and hybrid working to support disabled workers (presented by Paula Holland), Inequalities in access to elite occupations (presented by Claire Tyler) and Maternal well-being, infant feeding and return to paid work decisions (presented by Sarah Jewell). You can find out more about applying for Nuffield Foundation funding here.
Sarah Jewell presenting work from her Nuffield Foundation funded project
Day 1
Paula Holland (University of Lancaster) opened the conference discussing a mixed-methods study she is leading funded by the Nuffield Foundation that explores how remote and hybrid working can be designed to be inclusive of disabled workers’ needs and preferences. Greg Swaysland (Birkbeck, University of London) then presented his work exploring the experiences of those with disabilities and how they develop self-efficacy, and the influence of others.
Frances Hamilton (University of Reading), presented her work on the gendered nature of promotion applications, which forms the basis of one of the chapters of a book she is editing on The Evolution of the Gender Pay Gap: A Comparative Perspective which is due to be published by Routledge this year ( watch this space!). You can watch Frances’ presentation below:
We finished day 1 with a series of talks related to parental leave which set up nicely our roundtable discussion on day 2 on ‘How to facilitate return to paid work?’
.Jessica Hobbs (Birkbeck, University of London) kicked off with her PhD work exploring the experiences of British fathers who had taken parental leave, a much underexplored area, and you can watch Jessica’s presentation below:
Merve Uzunalioglu (University College London) in joint work with Katherine Twamley (University College London) talked about their research exploring experiences of parental leave in the University sector in the UK. You can watch Merve’s presentation below:
The day ended with Karen Jones (University of Reading) discussing her work exploring why the majority of female academics continue to undertake core academic duties whilst on maternity leave.
Day 2
Krystal Wilkinson providing the keynote talk
We opened day 2 with our keynote talk from Krystal Wilkinson (Manchester Metropolitan University), discussing ‘Fertility journeys and other emerging areas for equality, diversity and inclusion’. Krystal is an expert in the area of work-life interface, women’s health and wellbeing at work, and her research has included working with the Greater Manchester Police, Northern Care Alliance and the CIPD. You can find guidance for employers on supporting employees undergoing complex fertility journeys here, stemming from her research funded by the Leverhulme Trust. You can watch Krystal’s presentation below:
We then heard from two Nuffield Foundation funded projects. Claire Tyler (University College London) talked about a data-led research collaboration with large UK employers she is involved which aims to reduce inequality in access to elite occupations. In particular the project focuses on the intersection of socio-economic class gender ad ethnicity. You can watch Claire’s presentation about this innovative project below:
Sarah Jewell (University of Reading) then talked about the project that is interested in how to better support breastfeeding employees in the workplace. You can watch Sarah’s presentation below:
For more information about becoming an organisational case study for the ‘Maternal Well-Being, Infant and Return to Paid Work Decisions’, see our Supporting breastfeeding employees Poster
We then had a final afternoon of fascinating talks, starting with Grace James (University of Reading) who spoke about her work on labour law’s (mis)management of menopausal workers. We then heard two talks on leadership from Sana Ahmed and Obiageli Heidelberger-nkenke, both PhD researchers in the Henley Business School here at the University of Reading:
Xueying Zhao (University of Warwick) talked about her work on ‘Contracting with heterogenous biases’ and Steven Bosworth (University of Reading) closed the presentations with his talk on departmental prestige in academia and discrimination. Steven’s work shows that there is a higher wage premium of moving to a department that is more male dominated, and you can watch Steven’s presentation below:
The conference ended with a fruitful roundtable discussion on ‘How to facilitate return to paid work?’. If you would like to find out more about becoming involved with our ‘Accommodating Diversity in the Workplace’ research please see Accomodating Diversity workplace Poster.