The outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis has raised concerns about its impact on precarious and vulnerable workers when most of them have been at the front line during the crisis and their work has been revealed as essential. Dr Marti Lopez-Andreu, from the Work and Equalities Institute, investigates some of these key workers in areas […]
How resilient were UK regions to the 2008 financial crisis? Recovery policies for COVID-19 crisis
Dr Marianne Sensier, Professor Fiona Devine and Dr Elvira Uyarra have conducted research comparing the economic resilience of UK sub-regions in recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. In this blog, they map the resilience across the UK in recovery from the financial crisis and suggest policies for increasing resilience for recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. […]
#HereToDeliver: Valuing food delivery workers in the future
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore a new cadre of valued workers. And it’s not the corporate CEO or senior business leader but the delivery workers that are helping cafes and restaurants stay open (in some form) during lockdown. Cristina Inversi, Aude Cefaliello and Tony Dundon of the Work and Equalities Institute (WEI) […]
Furlough, fraud and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
The Government-implemented Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) supports companies in their attempts to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic, permitting them to place employees on a temporary leave of absence known as ‘furlough’, and claim state aid to pay furloughed staff either 80% of their usual wages or up to £2,500 per month, whichever amount is […]
Recognising the value and significance of cleaning work in a context of crisis
In this blog, Professor Miguel Martínez Lucio of the Work and Equalities Institute and the Alliance Manchester Business School and Dr Jo McBride of Durham University discuss the question of how we have failed to value the work and importance of those in the area of cleaning and hygiene-related employment more generally. The need now […]
What COVID-19 tells us about the value of human labour
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, a radical reassessment of what is considered ‘key work’ has taken place. For many key workers, however, this status is not reflected in their salary, employment rights, or social perception. Here, Abbie Winton and Professor Debra Howcroft, from the Work and Equalities Institute, discuss the disproportionate risk/reward equation […]
Ethnicity and gender in the Greater Manchester labour market
While male employment levels are roughly equal between ethnicities, women from ethnic minority backgrounds are less likely to be employed than their white peers. Here, Professor Ruth Lupton explores the reasons behind this disparity, and how policy and data-based approaches can help address it. Around 75% of white men are employed, while for the larger […]
Striving for gender balance in the IT industry
Early computing was dominated by women, most often working as machine operators. Since the 1970s, however, they have been side-lined by the tech industry, replaced by higher paid men. Professor Debra Howcroft critically examines the increasingly gendered environment within the IT sector, and offers solutions to encourage women to return to the industry they played […]
The gender pay gap in Greater Manchester: What it tells us and what it doesn’t tell us about gender equality
The gender pay gap is considered a key indicator of gender equality as a whole. Here, Professor Jill Rubery breaks down the data behind local and national pay disparity, and offers policy based solutions which positively affect both male and female workers. The narrower gender pay gap in Greater Manchester, compared to England as a […]
Gender and occupational segregation in Greater Manchester
Within the Greater Manchester region, the highest paid roles are typically dominated by men. In this blog, Anna Sanders and Professor Francesca Gains break down the gender ratios within several key sectors, and offer solutions to increase gender parity across the region. Men are concentrated in higher-paid occupational sectors. Two-thirds of managers, directors and senior […]