The effects of research culture on the diversity and career progression for female ethnic minority staff in academia across disciplines: a mixed-methods analysis and thematic framework

Project description:

In order to conduct research that is sufficiently reflective of the entire population, research teams needs to be diverse and inclusive to reflect the full range of communities they are researching. Females are underrepresented in professorial roles across academia but ethnic minority females from Black or Asian backgrounds face an additional layer of intersectionality which leads to their limited representation in senior academic or professional roles (Khan et al 2019; Stockfelt, 2018; Mahoney et al 2020). The focus of this research is therefore primarily on females, who are today still credited less in science than men (Ross et al 2022) but moreover on ethnic minority females who are also likely to be affected by systematic racism, which funders such as Wellcome (Wellcome Trust 2022) acknowledge and UKRI seek to redress in committing to workforce equality (UKRI 2023). Ensuring the female ethnic minorities are represented across academia is crucial to shaping research prioritisation and building future research teams.

This project seeks to understand the effects of research culture on the diversity and career progression for female ethnic minority staff in academia across disciplines using a mixed-methods analysis. Proposed work packages include:

• What is the evidence that research culture impacts the career progression of female ethnic minority staff? A systematic review and thematic analysis.

• What measurable evidence is there that female ethnic minority staff experience reduced career progression: case study of COVID-19 pandemic academic outputs. A quantitative analysis of published journal papers from academic staff before and during the pandemic.

• What are the lived experiences and intersectionality of academic research culture for female ethnic minority staff? A qualitative study of UoS female ethnic minority staff across disciplines.

• How can research culture evolve to ensure that research teams are sufficiently representative and inclusive to ensure sustained and rewarding careers for ethnic minority females in academia? A thematic framework, co-created with UoS female ethnic minority staff across disciplines.

The research environment for this project combines supervision skills of research excellence, research integrity and co-creation with people of lived experience so that the student who is themselves from a minority ethnic background will be supported, developed and nurtured by supervisors who share those characteristics. The primary supervisor (Dr Lesley Uttley) is leading a research integrity initiative to examine and uphold the conduct and reporting of systematic reviews. The second supervisor (Dr Shoba Dawson) is an expert in co-creation in research prioritisation and research with people from ethnic minority groups. She is also a member of the Cochrane Co-production Methods Group. The third supervisor (Dr Clara Mukuria) is an MRC and Euroqol group funded researcher studying the measurement of health and wellbeing across diverse populations including patients including children/adolescents, social care users and informal carers.

How to apply:

Please complete a University Postgraduate Research Application form available here: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/phd/apply/applying.  You will be required to complete a declaration form and upload it to your application.

Please clearly state the prospective main supervisor in the respective box and select ‘School of Medicine and Population Health’ as the department.

Entry Requirements:

Candidates must have a first or upper second class honours degree or significant research experience.

Proposed start date:

October 2024