Author: Guest editor

By Dr Sarah Forbes and Dr Holly Birkett Co-directors of the Equal Parenting Project The COVID-19 lockdown announced in March 2020 unexpectedly led to a nationwide experiment in home working. Many non-essential workers were suddenly working from home for the first time. The Office of National Statistics reported in April of 2020 that 46.6% of … Continue reading “What can we learn from COVID-19 working practices for working parents?”

By Cheryl Greyson, Teaching Fellow University of Birmingham With the UK on lockdown during a cold and wet January and February, it’s no wonder that viewers hunkered down on the sofa and eagerly binge-watched the escapist viewing of E4’s Married at First Sight Australia (MAFS). Whether it was the sunshine and beaches, or the premise … Continue reading “Best before: The expiry date of the reality show influencer”

By Professor Fiona Carmichael, Dr Marco Ercolani, and Dr Scott Taylor University of Birmingham Workplace gender inequality is a global phenomenon. The ‘gender pay gap’ (GPG), measuring the difference between men’s and women’s mean or median wages, is the most evident and direct manifestation of gender inequality, and shows how far we have to go … Continue reading “Closing The Gender Pay Gap: Are we nearly there yet?”

By Dr Daniel Wheatley Department of Management, University of Birmingham The rapid expansion of remote working at home in response to the global pandemic, peaking at around two-in-five workers in mid-2020, has prompted considerable debate regarding the future landscape of work, as many organisations begin to rethink the workplace and explore potential longer-term adoption of more flexible … Continue reading “Managing flexible working post-pandemic”

Dr Anandadeep Mandal Department of Finance, University of Birmingham With the ongoing vaccine programs around the world, international travel may soon take off again. But the key question is whether it will return to pre-COVID level or will it be a new-normal. The impact of COVID-19 on tourism and international travel has been unprecedented. Global … Continue reading “The future of airlines post-COVID”

King A. Wellington Business Strategist, Communication Specialist and Entrepreneur, BBS MBA student Opening the Ambition Summit on December 12, 2020, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, announced his government’s decision to bring an end to direct support to fossil fuel energy project across the world. On 4 December, 2020, the BBC highlighted Denmark’s … Continue reading “Joining the net zero bandwagon?”

Professor David Bailey  Department of Management, Birmingham Business School Having previously stressed the risks of a no trade deal for its entire European business model, Nissan has committed to assembling cars at its Sunderland plant – for now at least. That should mean that its new Qashqai model – delayed from last year amidst Brexit uncertainty – … Continue reading “Nissan can live with the Brexit deal – for now”

By Dr Christoph Biehl Associate of the Lloyds Banking Group Centre for Responsible Business, Department of Management The history of shareholder engagement and activism – particularly in the US – is one of ‘the little man’ making his voice heard by buying shares. So what’s so different about the current situation with GameStop? Well in … Continue reading “GameStop: a new era of shareholder activism?”

By Professor Aditya Goenka The Department of Economics, University of Birmingham The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the inequalities that exist in society. While the demographic data on infections and mortality has not been matched fully with income data, a picture of the unequal impact of the pandemic on society is emerging. Recent evidence shows that … Continue reading “Inequality in economic impact of COVID-19 and its consequences”

By Dr Jennifer L TyreeHageman Lloyds Banking Group Centre for Responsible Business It’s the start of a new year and even in these strange, lockdown times, many of us will be making resolutions to improve ourselves over January. Challenging ourselves to eat healthier or get fit are the usual ones, but what about resolving to … Continue reading “My New Year’s resolution? To be more sustainable”