Investigating inequality at work and its interconnections across the globe

“I think there's a real need to understand the complexity and pervasiveness of inequality.” says Professor Geraldine Healy. “The pay gap is shocking, the wealth gap is getting wider and wider, and society is just going along with it.”

Healy is Emerita Professor of Employment in the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary University of London. She was also the co-founder of the school’s Centre for Research in Equality and Diversity (CRED).

Professor Healy has co-edited a new book, the Research handbook on inequalities and work, with Dr Mustafa Ozturk and Professor Ahu Tatli, also from CRED, Queen Mary University of London, and Dr Cynthia Forson from Lancaster University Ghana.

With contributions from experts around the world, the book presents cutting-edge research on the influences and interactions of class, disability, gender, gender identity, race and ethnicity, and sexual orientation in the world of work. The book also provides insights into often-neglected topics related to inequality, such as climate change, migration flows, colonial legacies and regulation in the global south.

Professor Healy says the book is fundamentally about social justice, reflecting the values and driving force behind CRED. She adds: “This book will be invaluable for students, researchers and, importantly, policymakers and activists who want to make a difference and confront inequalities in their strategies and practices.”

Fundamental questions, transformative actions

Dr Ozturk says: “A lot of books of this kind tend to approach the subject matter from the perspective of surveying the field and giving you a sense of what's out there. I think we are achieving that in the different chapters, but we’re also putting forward an argument as to what we need to do. The chapters have a strong point of view about the need to challenge current unequal distribution of opportunities and rewards in the context of work.

“You can see from the contents of the book that we're very wary of superficial solutions. We ask fundamental questions about inequalities and seek transformative actions. Many of the chapters in the book question the status quo that generates ongoing power disparities among people.”

Professor Tatli believes the book shows how the struggle for equality at work and beyond is interconnected across the globe. She adds: “To get beyond the persistent inequalities in work, we must cultivate not just policies targeting systemic bias, but also practices steeped in an ethos of care, where love serves as the bedrock of inclusion. This approach compels us to see, value and elevate every worker’s humanity beyond the metrics of productivity. In the struggle against entrenched inequalities, love is the most subversive force."

Working together to solve the problems

The book also argues that workplace inequality cannot be addressed unless it is approached from an interdisciplinary perspective. Dr Forson believes that working in isolated silos fails to provide the breadth and depth of understanding required to tackle inequality; a range of perspectives is necessary to find a solution.

She adds: “Many well-meaning individuals are often unaware of the issues around them, simply because they've never had to face or address them. I'm really hoping this book will open eyes and raise awareness for everyone who reads it, and hopefully that will take us into a better future.”

Professor Healy concludes: “This book is at the leading edge of contemporary thinking in research on inequalities and work. This book is for anybody wanting to understand inequalities and why they persist, despite law, despite different regulations and across national borders.”