Gender and Diversity Policies in Banking and Finance: Moving towards Greater Inclusion? (current)
Over the last few years, but particularly since the 2008 financial crisis, gender and diversity issues have gained visibility in business, political, and academic spheres and in public debates at national and international levels. The UK government has introduced a range of policies and programmes to improve the gender balance of the workforce, especially at senior levels, while a range of consultancies and financial sector firms emphasise the business case for greater diversity. Given this context, the study (in collaboration with Professor Diane Perrons, LSE) focuses on contemporary workplace practices and workers experiences in banking and finance, zooming on the processes that support as well as inhibit the development of a more diverse and gender balanced workforce.
Production, social reproduction and mobility nexus in uneven and combined Europe (current)
Labour mobility forms an integral part of the gendered political economy of contemporary uneven and combined European capitalism. This collaborative study (with Dr Gregory Schwartz, University of Bristol) interrogates the ways in which labour migration from Ukraine to Poland, and from Poland to the UK, co-constitutes capitalist production and social reproduction. Concentrating on the gendered aspects of work and labour in the sectors of housing construction, food production, and care provision, the project analyses the struggles and contradictions of various actors involved in the day-to-day realities of their lives and livelihoods.
Brexit and the crisis of the European Social Model? (2016-2018)
The UK Referendum debates, just like EU policies, have emphasised the economic consequences of Brexit, and less so its potential social impact, even though the economic and the social are so tightly bound. The analysis of the EU social dimension, including the new Pillar of Social Rights, highlights the persistence of the tension between, on the one hand, the value of the EU social and gender equality framework, and, on the other, the subordination of social and gender equality objectives to neoliberal macroeconomic policy-making. This tension resonates with a recurring feminist dilemma of reconciling a critical stance towards state power with action for progressive change. Despite serious concerns over social and gender policies and politics, evident in the resilience of inequalities across the EU, scepticism about the UK’s withdrawal from the EU dominates over optimism. It is difficult to identify any meaningful gains of Brexit for the UK, and it is not (yet) clear that the UK’s departure from the EU will make matters easier for social and gender progress in Europe.
Gender Analysis of Labour Market Outcomes in Poland, Romania and Russia (2013-14)
This study (with Monika Potoczna) used micro data from labour force and household surveys to explore differences in labour market outcomes by sex, age, marital/parental status, and other relevant stratifiers. It aimed to gain a nuanced picture of changes in women’s and men’s labour force participation and its quality over time. The background paper from the study ‘Gender analysis of labour market outcomes in Poland, Romania and Russia in the 2000s’ (2014) contributed to the UN Women Report ‘Progress of the Worlds Women 2015-2016: Transforming economies, realising rights’ (2015).
Gender Equality and Gender Mainstreaming in Employment and Social Policies (2005-2014)
Since 2005 I have been involved in an annual programme of policy research and analysis for first the Employment and Social Affairs Directorate and subsequently for the Directorate General Justice of the European Commission as the National Expert for Poland in the European Network of Experts on Gender Equality (formerly EGGE and EGGSIE). This research centres on a critical assessment of national policies and the extent to which they promote gender equality in the employment and social spheres, and contributes to policy-making processes through commenting on and interacting with national and EU-level policy makers, including exchange of best practice seminars and reports for the European Commission, the Parliament, and other stakeholders.
Private Bank: Workplace Culture and Gender Balance (2010-2011)
This research (with Diane Perrons) conducted at a private bank investigated the factors inhibiting the development of a more gender balanced workforce, in particular in senior positions, in an organisation explicitly interested in raising the proportion of women in top management.
Socio-Economic Inequalities and Policy in the EU (2010)
This research (with Diane Perrons) was conducted in light of increasing research that since the mid-1970s socio-economic inequalities have increased across many countries, including in Europe. It was based on an extensive review of 13 research projects financed by DG Research under Framework Programme 6 that investigated the processes underpinning inequality, poverty and exclusion and the extent to which strategies put in place to promote social cohesion and inclusion are effective.
The main findings have been published in the report: ‘Why socio-economic inequalities increase? Facts and policy responses in Europe’ (2010) Available here:http://ec.europa.eu/research/social-sciences/pdf/policy-review-inequalities_en.pdf
Situating men within global care chains: the migrant handyman phenomenon (ESRC 2008-9)
Led by Majella Kilkey (Principal Investigator) and with Diane Perrons (Advisor), in this research we explored situations in which households outsource traditionally male chores, such as household and garden maintenance and repairs. Based on quantitative and qualitative research, the study obtained and analysed new information on the characteristics of employment of migrant handymen in the UK; on how the use of migrant handymen affects employing households' work, family and leisure practices; on migrant handymen's work and family biographies, and their experiences of being a migrant.
