Mental health in the research & innovation ecosystem
Join us to hear about the lived experience of women and mental health in the research & innovation ecosystem.
Date: 20th February 2025 12:30-14:00
Join us to hear the first of EDICa’s Flexible Fund projects present its initial findings.
Prof Dulini Fernando, Dr Krystal Wilkinson and Prof Elina Meliou will be presenting findings from their project, “The work and career experiences of women with mental health issues in STEM research and innovation”. Read more about the study below, and you can review all of our funded projects by clicking on Flexible Fund on the website menu, and then Funded Projects.
Dr Hadar Elraz has completed a short study, separate to EDICa but related in subject to Prof Fernando’s project, on “Examining the workplace experiences of female academics with Mental health conditions in the UK: Work intensification and intersectional effects”.
The seminar will consist of an introduction to EDICa and the Flexible Fund, followed by the two projects sharing their findings, and the seminar will culminate in a panel discussion and question & answer with the audience.
The seminar will be recorded and published on our YouTube channel and on our website. Let us know as soon as possible if you require a BSL interpreter. edicaucus@hw.ac.uk
Click here to register: Join us on Zoom on 19 February from 12:30-14:00.
Panellists:
- Prof Dulini Fernando, Principal Investigator of EDICa Flexible Fund Project, and Professor at Aston University.
- Dr Krystal Wilkinson, Co-Investigator of EDICa Flexible Fund Project, and Reader (Associate Professor) in Human Resource Management at Manchester Metropolitan University.
- Prof Elina Meliou, Co-Investigator of EDICa Flexible Fund Project, and Professor of Work and Organisation Studies at Brunel University of London.
- Dr Hadar Elraz, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour at Swansea University.Business
More about the Flexible Fund Project:
Led by Prof Dulini Fernando at Aston University in Birmingham, with co-investigators Prof Elina Meliou at Brunel University London and Dr Krystal Wilkinson at Manchester Metropolitan University with partners Mind in Hillingdon , the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) campaign and the Women in Academia Support Network (WIASN).
The UK’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce comprises 2.8 million people (ONS, 2022), around a quarter of which are women (Statista, 2023). There are varied research and innovation roles in universities and industry. Mental health issues (MHI) are common within the STEM workforce, connected to various occupational factors including performance metrics and competition, precarity, and cultures of presenteeism and bullying. Women face additional challenges in STEM fields due to under-representation, stereotypes and barriers to progression, and are especially susceptible to mental issues in this context. MHI in STEM were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which increased demands for many in both the work and home domains, and affected existing support systems. Through a co-designed research approach centred around 50 in-depth interviews with women in STEM (at different career stages) who have experienced MHI, this study aims to understand their lived experience at the intersection of their MHI, work and careers. The study will explore the impact of the covid-19 pandemic; illuminate diversity in experiences linked to ethnicity and other identity facets; and aid understanding of the supports (formal and informal) that prove useful. Ultimately, the project will co-design interventions to facilitate the work experience and career progression of women professionals in STEM research and innovation.
Sed enim odio fames pretium cum viverra nibh egestas. Sagittis, tempor a mattis lectus. Mattis blandit neque dui pharetra senectus consequat et tempus viverra. Sed laoreet sed augue facilisis venenatis ut. Et felis convallis condimentum bibendum eget natoque sem. Felis, pretium morbi rutrum a donec.
- Viverra nibh egestas. Sagittis, tempor a mattis lectus.
- Mattis blandit neque dui pharetra senectus consequat et tempus viverra.
- Sed laoreet sed augue facilisis venenatis ut.
Et felis convallis condimentum bibendum eget natoque sem. - Felis, pretium morbi rutrum a donec.
Check out EDICa’s resources
EDICa hosts a regular blog and seminars, as well as collecting a library of resources of equality, diversity & inclusion practices in research & innovation.
Symposium: Mitigating the Effects of Covid-19
EDICa’s Flexible Fund round 1 projects focusing on mitigating the impact of Covid-19 on research & innovation careers will present their findings.
12 March 13:30-15:30 online
Deaf Researchers’ Experience in the UK – Recording
Recorded on 24 September 2024
Watch the recording of our panel discussing what it’s like working in the UK’s research sector as deaf researchers.
Care-Experienced Academics
Date: 24th April 2024
Article from Higher Education journal – Climbing the ivory tower: agency, reflexivity and the career pathways of care-experienced academics in higher education