The Autumn Statement or a New Political Game in Spotting the Politics of Tokenism

By Professor John Bryson Professor of Enterprise and Economic Geography, Birmingham Business School In 1777, Samuel Johnson proclaimed to James Boswell, his friend and biographer, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life”. I must admit to being tired of Autumn Statements and of a British political system that is not … Continue reading “The Autumn Statement or a New Political Game in Spotting the Politics of Tokenism”

Saluting Our Sisters: Voices from across the College of Social Sciences

October is an important opportunity to share and celebrate black history. This year’s theme is ‘Saluting Our Sisters’, highlighting the crucial role that black women play in shaping history, inspiring change, and building communities. As a College we have much to contribute and celebrate, be that the groundbreaking research of academics, student success stories, or … Continue reading “Saluting Our Sisters: Voices from across the College of Social Sciences”

Putting it Simply: What is decolonisation?

By Anita Lateano Research Fellow, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham First, we must look at why colonialism is still an issue in today’s universities. Universities are rooted in colonialism. At the height of the British empire, over a quarter of the world’s land mass was covered by British rule. Much of what was taught … Continue reading “Putting it Simply: What is decolonisation?”

“Come on Barbie – let’s go shop!”

By Dr Sarah Montano, Deputy Director of Education (Digital) & Senior Lecturer in Marketing Department of Marketing, University of Birmingham This blog contains spoilers from the film. The launch of the Barbie movie has been highly anticipated. Directed by Greta Gerwig and staring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, Barbie suffers an existential crisis that leads … Continue reading ““Come on Barbie – let’s go shop!””

Why offices must adapt to encourage people to return

By Hannes Read, Policy and Data Analyst City-REDI, University of Birmingham “People who tend to have more outgoing and extroverted personalities may be more likely to feel encouraged by more opportunities to network. Yet those who are less outgoing could feel that their wellbeing is best placed by working predominantly from home.” A new study … Continue reading “Why offices must adapt to encourage people to return”

Departing Stores: The demise of a 200-year-old retail format

By Dr Inci Toral, Department of Marketing Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. “…a global pandemic situation is not the only factor to blame. It is, in fact a multifaceted phenomenon that the Covid-19 only accelerated the demise of the 200-year-old retail formats.” As we are entering the new phase of returning to normal and … Continue reading “Departing Stores: The demise of a 200-year-old retail format”

Livelihoods on the line: Support needed for independent musicians and grass-roots venues

By Dr David White, Lecturer in Political Science School of Government, University of Birmingham. “It is not yet clear how the £1.5bn rescue package for the arts, promised by the government on 6th July, will be spent. For the musicians I spoke to the main concern was for the future of the smaller grass-roots live … Continue reading “Livelihoods on the line: Support needed for independent musicians and grass-roots venues”

VIDEO AND PODCAST: Why do we need more female CEOs?

Female CEOs of large firms are a rare breed. In the US in 2015, there were more CEOs called John running big companies in the US than women. In 2016, there were only six female CEOs in the firms covered by the FTSE 100 index and 12 in the FTSE 250 index. In the FTSE 100, there were … Continue reading “VIDEO AND PODCAST: Why do we need more female CEOs?”