Our history and vision

New thinking on how to address the challenges posed by changes in work, employment and equalities is urgently needed.

The Institute brings together two internationally-recognised Alliance Manchester Business School research centres (European Work and Employment Research Centre and Fairness at Work Research Centre) with international expertise across human resource management, industrial relations, labour economics, organisational psychology, employment law, technology, organisation studies, sociology and social statistics.

The Work and Equalities Institute's research agenda will develop new interdisciplinary approaches to addressing core policy and intellectual challenges.

The WEI team have a world class track record of informing the evidence-base and policy agenda of the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the United Nations’ International Labour Office, as well as national organisations such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the TUC, built over more than 25 years of engagement in this arena. They also have an excellent track record of supervision of doctoral students and launching early career researchers onto successful careers as academics or researchers and policy makers in other sectors. I am confident that our new Institute will build on the strengths of these foundations, and will make a significant impact to knowledge and policy solutions in relation to the quality, organisation, innovation, and fair distribution of work and employment.

Colette Fagan / Vice President for Research at The University of Manchester

The Institute's research will range from the local to the global and build on the already strong connections with important national and international policy bodies. Its research on work and employment inequalities will be an important contributor to The University of Manchester's global inequalities research beacon.