Tackling Inequalities

Our passions drive our research, from tackling religious intolerance and online violence against women and girls to the inequalities LGBTQ+ people face, racial and ethnic educational disadvantages and unequal access and opportunities for disabled people.

Why UK employers need to provide support for early pregnancy endings as the norm

Early endings to pregnancy, including terminations and miscarriage, can be a traumatic experience for employees. While they are a relatively common occurrence, the UK has yet to introduce particular legal entitlements for staff around pregnancy endings.

Re-energising education for prisoner rehabilitation

Education has been a life-changing factor for so many people, and yet it’s still not being taken seriously as a means of supporting rehabilitation in UK prisons, argues The Open University's (OU) Professor Rosalind Crone. New research will examine the history of prison education as a means of re-making prison schools that engage prisoners and open up new and genuine opportunities.

Reproductive work

Feminist economists have long called for the inclusion of unpaid domestic work, including caring duties and breastfeeding, to be included in national accounting towards GDP. Reproductive work includes the labour of bearing children and raising them, as well as other caring duties, healthcare, and education. The Office for National Statistics in the UK, include estimates for unpaid domestic work, calculating satellite accounts to the national accounts. However, such valuations are partial and systematically undervalue the work of reproduction.

What can we do about cyber-victimisation of disabled people

People look to social media for a sense of community, to share experiences, advice and friendship. But for some disabled people being online is the beginning of a spiral of hatred, abuse and worsening physical and mental health. With her project, Dr Zhraa Alhaboby is determined to increase awareness on cyber-victimisation as a public health concern and to make sure disabled people get the understanding and support from health professionals.

Assessing the equity implications of Public-Private-Partnerships in health in Africa

Today, there continues to be question marks around the real impact of Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) - especially what they mean for more vulnerable, lower income groups across African countries. Evidence suggests that the private sector’s imperative to maximise profits tends to be incompatible with the ambition to provide healthcare to all as a public good. Yet, private sector involvement in healthcare delivery in the form of PPPs continues to be heavily promoted by donor countries and international organisations as a way of making available additional resources for healthcare. Research led by Dr Julia Ngozi Chukwuma is looking to provide new insights into the possible dangers associated with PPPs in health, as a strategy to furthering universal access to healthcare in African countries.

Creating a better understanding of the lives of people with learning disabilities

More than 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability. Many are not fully included in the life of communities, and can have terrible education, employment, and health experiences. We need to challenge this exclusion by sharing stories, research and the history of their lives, argues Professor Jonathan Rix, who is leading work on a major new resource to get more people talking and listening, a way to better understand day-to-day realities, enhance support and provide more meaningful opportunities.

How to make a citizen

Is citizenship education working? Evidence suggests that the values learnt by young people in schools stay with them into adulthood - but there are doubts over whether current approaches to teaching citizenship are rooted in an everyday reality that students recognise. Work led by Dr Eleni Andreouli is starting up a UK-wide conversation involving young people, teachers and a host of stakeholders to reinvigorate thinking around how to make politically-engaged citizens for the future.

Is justice affected by people's ethnicity?

Members of juries play a crucial role as arbiters of justice in courtrooms. But in spite of efforts to reduce bias, evidence suggests that factors outside of the details of a case - such as the ethnicity of the people involved - can affect attitudes towards defendants, witnesses and victims. Injustice in the criminal court system has long-term implications for people’s lives, not just when it comes to initial verdicts but prison sentences and opportunities to re-enter society. A research team led by Dr Lara Frumkin is exposing how bias towards ethnic minorities has influenced decisions, with the aim of helping to establish a new culture of best practice in courts.

Making sure d/Deaf people get justice

The criminal justice system was designed with only hearing people in mind. That means the potential for disadvantage, miscommunications and unfair treatment for d/Deaf* people at any stage of the process: dealing with the police, in courts, prisons and during probation. A lack of understanding of d/Deaf people’s actual experiences and particular challenges means the potential for injustice, argues Daniel McCulloch.

Opening more doors to education and careers for disabled people globally

More than one billion people worldwide live with a form of disability. At the same time, the pathways through education tend to have a one-size-fits-all design, expecting disabled learners to find individual workarounds and solutions, often without the right advice and support. The Open University's Dr Tim Coughlan is leading the development of a Digital Access Advisor that will help remove barriers for disabled people and unlock their learning and career potential.

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Addressing human trafficking

Human trafficking is a huge worldwide problem: more than 40 million people are believed to be forced labour in the sex, entertainment and hospitality industries, or have been forced into marriage. Women and girls are a particular target for traffickers who take advantage of poverty and low levels of education and aspirations.

Addressing health inequalities

The UK has a richly diverse population, with almost 20% of people identifying with a non-white ethnicity in the last census. Numerous studies have shown that ethnic diversity is hugely beneficial to population health and leads to greater social cohesion and better health outcomes for individuals. But despite this, there are still entrenched health inequalities between the UK's white population and minority ethnic groups, with minority patients often experiencing worse outcomes than their white counterparts.

Changemakers: Active Political Citizens

Current political, socio-economic and cultural tensions illustrate that society is challenged in a number of ways in the UK and more widely – financial stability, rule of law, external security, trust in politicians and media etc. are all current issues society is faced with. Those who are currently young adults will become citizens in a society influenced by these tensions meaning it is important to create learning opportunities inside and outside of formal education to support young adults to think and act in critical ways when confronted with injustice, inequality, and undemocratic phenomena and processes; and to understand how to make political and social change. Enabling them to be active political citizens.

Ending online violence against women and girls

OU researchers have launched Europe’s first research centre tackling online violence against women and girls. The Observatory on Online Violence Against Women will work with governments, regulators and social media platforms to end this societal inequality and confront digital abuse through law, policy and education.

Rewriting the maths story

Mathematics underpins everything from information technology, product design and scientific discovery to our financial system. Maths skills also have a massive impact on our career and life prospects. But many people still see the subject as boring, difficult and pointless. OU researchers are rewriting the maths story, making it fun and accessible for everyone and tackling inequalities.

Confronting colonial legacies

Between 1834 and the end of the first world war, Britain transported more than two million Indians to work in its colonies worldwide, from Trinidad to Kenya, in return for payment, land and eventual return home. However, it rarely fulfilled these promises, leaving these indentured workers in poverty far from home. The British Government officially abolished the practice in 1917, but its legacy lives on for these workers' descendants, who still face marginalisation, discrimination and racism. Dr Geetha Reddy is building solidarities between South African and Malaysian descendent communities to tackle these inequalities.

The cyber-victimisation of disabled people in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic redefined our norms and raised concerns over the escalation of discrimination against disabled people. This included the cyber-victimisation of disabled people, a prevalent phenomenon that impacts physical health, mental well-being, social relationships and living conditions.

What does it mean to be Welsh?

Is Welshness about speaking the language, enjoying the picturesque peaks and valleys, the country's rich industrial heritage or celebrating St David's Day?