Research Interests

Research activities

My main research interests are: gender equality; violence against women; gendered employment policy; gender relations in work (paid and unpaid); the intersection between social class and gender; and intersectionality in equality policies and institutions. I have also been working to bring these interests together by applying an economic lens to the field of gender-based violence. This dual focus allows exploration of the ways in which class positioning impacts upon, and is impacted by, the experience of gendered violence. For example, as a member of the UNESCO Chair in Gender Research Group, I was involved in researching the gendered impact of the financial crisis. More recently, I have been engaged in projects concerning policies to prevent rape and analysis of the gendered dimensions of trafficking in human beings.

Previous projects include those funded by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the European Commission and the European Parliament. I worked on two reports for the EHRC: one focused on physical and legal security and the Criminal Justice System in Britain; and one which reviewed the statistics and indicators that have been (and could be) used to assess inequalities in the areas of gender, ethnicity, disability, age, religion/belief, sexual orientation and social class. The European Commission project ‘QUING’ (Quality in Gender+ Equality Policies) involved researching gender equality policies in the UK and Ireland across different areas (general gender equality; non-employment; intimate citizenship; and gender-based violence) as well as comparative work across the EU member states and analysis of the intersections between gender inequality and other inequalities. The European Parliament projects have included an assessment of the use of gender quotas in management boards and an evaluation of policies to prevent rape.

During my employment at Lancaster I have spent periods of time in the Department of Sociology and the Department of Educational Research. I am currently working on projects in both departments. In Educational Research I am a member of the team ‘Researching Equity, Access and Participation’ (REAP) where my interests are again focused upon equalities and social justice issues (particularly those regarding access to, and success in, Higher Education).

My background is in Sociology and Women's Studies and I completed my doctorate 'Classed and gendered experiences of employment and motherhood' at Lancaster in 2005. This research used in-depth interviews with mothers and a feminist-Bourdieuian theoretical framework to explore the ways women's dispositions toward employment and motherhood are shaped through classed and gendered processes.