'Linking Leeds' Seminar - 12 June 2019
- Date
- Wednesday 12 June 2019
This seminar is part of the 'Linking Leeds' seminar series; developed in collaboration with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), in order to help foster richer connections between the academic and policy worlds.
The Linking Leeds seminar series provides opportunities to hear from both leading Social Scientists at the University of Leeds as well as prominent analysts, strategists and policy makers from the Department for Work and Pensions.
The following speakers will be giving presentations at this event:
- Dr Kathryn Watson (Impact Manager, Leeds University Business School)
- Dr Daniel Edmiston (School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds)
Abstracts
Dr Kathryn Watson - How do you effectively implement a diversity and inclusion strategy and bring about real organisational change?
While much has been written on the business and moral case for diversity, there is less understanding of the processes involved in effectively implementing a diversity strategy and bringing about real organisational change.
M&S has effectively opened its doors for the research team from Leeds, Durham and Birmingham to engage closely with staff and explore in detail many of the processes and practices within the company. It is a rare opportunity for academic researchers to be granted this level of access within a business organisation. The team have worked in partnership with M&S to identify ways in which the company can build on its existing strong organisational culture, to ensure an inclusive business environment that enables all individuals to perform to their maximum potential and deliver excellent customer service.
Dr Daniel Edmiston - A Changing Profile of Poverty in the UK?
When examining the distributional effects of social security policy and labour market restructuring, there is a tendency to delineate between ‘the poor’ and the ‘non-poor’ in academic research and policy evaluation. This risks overlooking the diverse, and changing characteristics of low-income households living below the relative poverty line. This paper argues that we need to re-think how we currently conceptualise poverty by examining internal heterogeneity within the broader category of ‘the poor’ and the dynamics and diversity that shape its character, experience and significance. This paper will discuss a new project that seeks to explore whether, how and why the income distribution and socio-demographic profile of low-income households has changed since 2008 in the UK.
The seminar will be followed by a question and answer session.
Please feel free to bring your lunch with you to eat during the session. If you have any access requirements or any further questions about the session, please contact LSSI Communications Coordinator, Katie Barclay (K.barclay@leeds.ac.uk).