Research articles and reports
Growth and Governance Hub
Research Articles and Reports
MDPI, published 10 March 2025
Authors: Gerald Wu, Nikita, Grace Lordan
Abstract
Evidence from the lab suggests that women perform less well than men under competitive conditions, but the majority of this evidence relates to Western countries. Our study explores gender differences in performance in competitive environments among Chinese individuals. Using a five-round online experimental design, we recruited undergraduate and postgraduate students from a Shanghai university. Participants completed a series of word memory games under varying incentive schemes, including baseline, piece-rate, risk-based, and tournament-style competition. The results of this study suggest that there are no differences in performance under competitive conditions between Chinese men and women. However, women perform slightly better than men when the element of risk is added in a competitive environment. This study underscores the importance of examining cultural nuances when evaluating gender dynamics in competition and contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of these dynamics in the Chinese context.
TMX, published March 2025
Authors: Anne Theunissen, Grace Lordan
Abstract
RISE is an action-based framework to accelerate the progress of women in Capital Markets in Canada. Based on interviews with women in income-generating positions in various Capital Markets organisations, it highlights the advances that have been made in the sector, and outlines the biases, norms and barriers that still hold women back.
To generate real change in the industry, it includes selected actions that individuals, managers, and firms can take to progress women in Capital Markets. Based on empirical data and behavioural science research, RISE highlights four ways to promote inclusion: 1) changing notions of competence, 2) inspiring accountable leadership, 3) stop fixing and starting to include women, and 4) embracing a new vision of the ideal worker.
Frontiers in Psychology, published 7 May 2025
Authors: Cecily Josten, Grace Lordan
Abstract
Collaboration and inclusion are key drivers of successful work outcomes in today’s increasingly diverse workforce. Yet, while organizational inclusion has been widely studied, less is known about what makes an individual inclusive of others at work. We define an inclusive individual as someone who actively includes others in a group, values diversity of thought and background, and fosters group performance and productivity. To address this gap, we develop and validate a new measure: the Individual Inclusiveness Inventory.
Authors: Teresa Almeida, Yehuda Dayan, Helen Krause, Grace Lordan, and Andreas Theodoulou
Published 18 November 2024
Abstract
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a growing strategic focus area. However, measuring DEI remains a challenge, partly due to self-reporting biases and limitations of cross-sectional survey data. This paper proposes a novel measure of DEI using a data set of online employee reviews that encompasses more than 3.2 million reviews posted between 2015 and 2022 on the career intelligence website Glassdoor. We investigate the relationship between this measure of DEI and firm performance for 945 US and UK-listed firms. We find that DEI is associated with higher long-term market performance, with positive impacts larger for growth compared to steady state firms, but not short-term market performance. We find evidence of a mixed relationship between DEI and accounting performance, and a consistent positive relationship with higher innovation. Finally, we examine the interaction between firm DEI and senior management diversity, with results indicating that the positive effects of DEI on long-term market performance and innovation are amplified in firms with higher levels of ethnic diversity in senior management. Overall, we conclude that DEI has either a positive or neutral association with firm performance.
Published September 2024
Over the past year, the DaPEW project team has focused on deepening our understanding of the relationship between diversity, inclusion, and productivity through rigorous research, innovative experiments, and engaging events. This year’s report encapsulates the research we believe will reshape the future of diversity and productivity in the UK.
IZA Institute of Labor Economics, published 25 January 2024
Authors: Cecily Josten, Helen Krause, Grace Lordan, Brian Yeung
Abstract
Technology is disrupting labor markets. We analyse the demand and reward for skills at occupation and state level across two time periods using job postings. First, we use principal components analysis to derive nine skills groups: 'collaborative leader', 'interpersonal & organised', 'big data', 'cloud computing', 'programming', 'machine learning', 'research', 'math' and 'analytical'. Second, we comment on changes in the price and demand for skills over time. Third, we analyze non-linear returns to all skills groups and their interactions. We find that 'collaborative leader' skills become significant over time and that legacy data skills are replaced over time by innovative ones.
IZA Institute of Labor Economics, published 25 January 2024
Authors: Cecily Josten, Grace Lordan
Abstract
This study develops and validates the 'Individual Inclusiveness Inventory'. Collaboration and inclusion are key contributors to successful work outcomes in an increasingly diverse workforce. We capture what makes an individual inclusive of others at work. We define an inclusive individual as someone who actively includes individuals in a group and encourages diversity of thought and background but still encourages the group in a way as to maximise performance and productivity. To develop the 'Individual Inclusiveness Inventory' we combine a deductive and inductive approach: we generate scale items based on the existing literature on inclusion and interviews with 14 experts in diversity and inclusion. The items are then reduced using exploratory factor analysis and confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis in two samples of working professionals in the UK. This results in a two-factor solution where factor 1 'Belonging and Uniqueness' captures the importance of fostering belonging and uniqueness at work and factor 2 'Challenge and Openness' captures being open to challenge and being challenged.
Published October 2023
Abstract
We are thrilled to commemorate three impactful years of The Inclusion Initiative. To mark this significant milestone, we are excited to present our 'Three Years of Impact' report, which captures the journey—achievements, lessons, and transformative moments. As we reflect on our journey so far, we are immensely grateful for your invaluable support and contributions. Together, we've made a difference, and we eagerly anticipate the continued collaboration and growth that lies ahead.
Published October 2023
Abstract
The annual report for the Diversity and Productivity from Education to Workforce (DaPEW) project summarises the key activities and insights gathered over the past year. This project addresses the pressing issue of productivity challenges in the UK, which has lagged behind its competitors since the 2008 financial crisis. It also highlights a significant diversity problem, with under-represented groups facing barriers in accessing productive education and career pathways. DaPEW is a collaborative effort led by leading researchers from various UK institutions. Its goal is to conduct rigorous research to understand the intricate link between diversity, inclusion, and productivity in the UK.
Citi, published October 2023
Authors: Helen Krause, Brian Yeung, Cecily Josten, Grace Lordan, Pantelis Koutroumpis
Abstract
With AI now upon us and leading us into the "Fourth Industrial Revolution," this new report notes hiring has evolved from requiring specific education and experience criteria to looking more at detailed skills requirements. The report that follows looks at the changing demand for specific skills in this rapidly changing job market. It discusses the skills that are rising and falling in demand and explores how the wages for these skills are changing. Looking at professional occupations, the authors identify two "soft" skills groups and seven "cognitive" skills groups that are increasingly relevant for the future of work and deemed important based on the frequency in which they appear in job advertisements. Overall, the soft skill collaborative leadership increased in importance over time in terms of demand and hourly wages.
IZA Institutue of Labor Economics, published 26 June 2023
Authors: Odessa Hamilton, Daniel Jolles, Grace Lordan
Abstract
The post-COVID-19 phenomenon of 'quiet quitting' could be problematic for UK economic growth because unpaid overtime has been a key contributor to business productivity since the 2008 global financial crisis. Here, we explore the extent to which this phenomenon exists in the UK, and whether the tendency for 'quiet quitting' differs across generations. We analysed data from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) between 2007-2022 to determine changes in hours worked. Given the ~24,568 million UK full-time workers in 2022, our findings equate to over 55 million discretionary hours lost to the labour market per year between 2019-2022, 48.1% of which is accounted for by Millennials. Thus, we evidence that quiet quitting has interrupted the recovery of working hours in the UK to prepandemic levels, and lost hours are especially attributable to younger cohorts.
WIBF, published April 2023
Author: Grace Lordan
Abstract
To enable our partners and the financial services sector to apply the GOOD FINANCE framework, this manual has two main aims. The first is to provide clear instructions on how firms and their individual leaders can operationalise the GOOD FINANCE framework. The second is to provide clear instructions on how firms and their individual leaders can measure progress for each element of the GOOD FINANCE framework.
LSE Research Online, published 20 October 2021
Authors: Paul Dolan, Grace Lordan
Abstract
We examine how intergenerational mobility impacts on subjective wellbeing (SWB) drawing on data from the British Cohort Study. Our SWB measures encapsulate both life satisfaction and mental health, and we consider both relative and absolute movements in income. We find that relative income mobility is a significant predictor of life satisfaction and mental health, whether people move upward or downward. For absolute income, mobility is only a consistent predictor of SWB and mental health outcomes if the person moves downwards, and in this case the impact is far larger than relative mobility. For both relative and income mobility, downward movements impact SWB to a greater extent than upward movements, consistent with exhibiting loss aversion. Notably, we find that social class mobility does not affect SWB. We present evidence that the significant relative and absolute mobility effects we find operate partially through financial perceptions and consumption changes which can occur because of income mobility.
Research for the World, published 12 January 2021
Author: Dr Grace Lordan
Abstract
Inclusion doesn’t just help individuals, it has financial benefits for firms, but innovation and creativity are needed if equality of opportunities is to be achieved. Grace Lordan leads The Inclusion Initiative, which aims to help the financial sector identify what will work for them.
Published November 2020
Authors: Grace Lordan, Karina Robinson
Abstract
To set the research agenda for the first phase of TII, we embarked on a piece of qualitative research that involved interviewing senior leaders in TII’s first priority area, Financial and Professional Services, to learn their beliefs about best practice in terms of improving inclusion at the firm level, and the obstacles that stand in the way of progress. With these insights at hand, we set a research agenda for TII that will tackle the most commonly cited obstacles, drawing on current insights from the behavioural science literature. The Inclusion in the City paper outlines what this agenda is. The primary aim being to inspire firms to adopt some of the ideas in this paper for their own in-house inclusion agendas, with their own people.