In Autumn 2023, EDICa surveyed the UK’s research and innovation sector, exploring the medium- to long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on equalities in the sector.
Call for Focus Group / Interview Participants
We are now recruiting participants for the online focus groups or interviews. Are you currently working in – or have ever worked in – the UK’s research & innovation ecosystem. Researchers, technicians, educators, administrators, managers – in small or large, public or private/higher education settings. If so, we invite you to take part in research aimed at informing the improvement or creation of more inclusive and better enabling workspaces. These sessions, via Zoom, will concentrate on four specific themes, but will be focused on moving beyond the abstract theory and putting it into the physical reality.
To sign up, click here. The four themes are:
- Age Diversity in the Workplace
- Gender Inclusivity
- Support for Mental Health and Well-being
- Safety and Health Measures in the Workplace
The Focus Groups are scheduled for the following dates/times, but if these are not suitable, please consider showing your availability for a one-on-one interview.
Tuesday 23 April, 10:00-11:30 or 14:00-15:30
Thursday 25 April, 10:00-11:30 or 14:00-15:30
Tuesday 30 April, 10:00-11:30 or 14:00-15:30
Thursday 2 May, 10:00-11:30 or 14:00-15:30
Indicative Survey Findings
Age and Career Stage/Employment Span: The relationship between an individual’s age and their career stage, which significantly influences the duration of employment with their current employer, has been further nuanced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has reshaped career trajectories, with older employees potentially facing different challenges and opportunities in maintaining employment or shifting careers.
Gender and Discipline/Job Security: The interplay between gender and field of work, which crucially affects perceptions of job security, has been markedly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has exposed and possibly exacerbated gender disparities in various professions, affecting job security perceptions differently for men and women. It underscores the need to consider how events uniquely influence job stability and career choices among genders, indicating shifts in workforce dynamics.
Health Conditions and Workplace Dynamics: Long-term health conditions are linked to factors like promotion opportunities and experiencing or witnessing bullying post-lockdown, and neurodivergence is related to feelings about one’s job as a whole in terms of satisfaction.
Mental Health and Organisational Support: The discipline a person is in relates to the support they receive for mental health, indicating variations in organisational support across different fields.
Work Environment and Various Factors: The working conditions, whether in a lab or office, correlate with numerous factors like access to funding, staff management relations, job satisfaction, and perceptions of equality and inclusion.
Pay Rates, Bullying, and Harassment: There’s a relationship between pay rates and job variety/satisfaction, and instances of bullying and sexual harassment post-lockdown are related to how inclusive and equitable the environment is perceived to be.
We look forward to sharing more detail once the quantitative analysis has been conducted.