Personal profile
Research interests
My research examines the workplace as the site where gender, and associated inequalities, are reproduced. I am particularly interested in how gender intersects with other categories of difference resulting in complex patterns of (dis)advantage. My current and recent projects include:
- EDI Caucus (EDICa) (UKRI with Support from the British Academy - £4.19m)
- Disability Inclusive Careers in Engineering & the sciences (DICE) (EPSRC impact acceleration award)
- Disability and neurodiversity and intellectual property (IPO)
- Closing the fair work gap: making work fair for autisic people in Scotland with Into Work (Scottish Government Increasing Understanding of Autism programme led by Professor James Richards)
- Enabling Neurodiverse Science Careers (NERC funded - £87k)
- Creating a menopause policy (Industry funded)
- Disability Inclusive Science Careers (EPSRC funded - £494k)
- Beyond the 10k Steps (Industrial Challenge Strategy Fund - led by Professor Wendy Loretto, University of Edinburgh)
- Lifting the lid (Foundation of Sociology of Health and Illness, led by Dr Jen Remnant)
- Disability Inclusive Chemistry Careers (Royal Society of Chemistry - with Dr Jen Remnant and Dr Graeme Barker)
- Working from the margins: disability inclusion in Malawi (GCRF £25k)
- Menstruation research network (Wellcome Trust - CoI)
- Women's access to basic services in Rohingya Refugee Camps (GCRF £30k)
- Gynaecological health in academia
Recent projects
- Menstrual health and menopause in the workplace
- disability and trade unions
- disability and academic careers
- neurodiversity and careers
- migrant academics
Key Research Words/Phrases
Gender, inequality, intersectionality, feminism, disability, professions, poverty, posthumanism
Research Group Contact Details
I am the Director of the Centre for the Transformation of Work
I am member of the Intercultural Research Centre
Roles & Responsibilities
I am the Director of the Centre of the Transformation of Work (Launched Nov 2024) and am also the President of the HWU branch of UCU.
I was the 4th year coordinator responsible for overseeing honours year. Recent administrative roles include Business Management departmental Research Coordinator and the Human Resource Management and Law Group lead.
Between 2010 and 2016 I served on the Executive Committee of the Feminist and Women's Studies Association, latterly as Chair. In 2015 I was a member of the publicity committee of the Sex & Gender group of the American Sociological Association. In addition, I was the SGSSS Dean of Graduate Studies committee as the HWU representative and the PGR co-ordinator for the department of business management
Editorial work. I was an Associate Editor of European Management Review (ABS 3), and am on the Editorial Board of Work, Employment and Society (ABS 4). In 2015 I launched Heriot Watt's first Open Access journal - Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Equality and Diversity (www.ipedjournal.com).
External positions
CPG Autism
2024 → …
Economic & Social Research Council
2022 → …
Law Society of Scotland
2022 → 2024
Association of Research Managers and Administrators
Jan 2020 → 2023
Canadian Research Chairs Advisory Committee on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
Nov 2019 → Nov 2022
REF 2021
2019 → 2021
Scottish Government
2018 → 2020
CPG women's health
2017 → …
Keywords
- HM Sociology
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
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SDG 5 Gender Equality
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SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
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SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
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SDG 13 Climate Action
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SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Fingerprint
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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“You go back to zero”: embodied precarity, endo time and employment
Williams, V., Brewis, J., Priola, C. & Sang, K., Oct 2025, In: Organization. 32, 7, p. 954-980 27 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)98 Downloads (Pure) -
A qualitative study of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on equality, diversity and inclusion in the UK’s research and innovation ecosystem: Structural inequality, lived experience and recommendations for change
Saxena, S., Richards, J., Sang, K., Strong, W., Jones, P. & Wedgwood, B., Jan 2026, Heriot-Watt University. 86 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
Open AccessFile96 Downloads (Pure) -
The working lives of disabled women
Sang, K. J. C. & Richards, J., 3 Feb 2026, A Research Agenda for the Future of Inclusivity in Work. Broadbridge, A., Moulettes, A. & Michaelides, A. (eds.). Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 133-148 16 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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(In)Decent Work, Disability, and Intersectionality in Employment: Structural Barriers, Mental Well-Being, and Precarity in the Research and Innovation (R&I) Ecosystem
Richards, J., Sang, K. & Saxena, S., 8 Sept 2025.Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review
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An appraisal of changes to the UKRI Standard Terms and Conditions of Training Grant for disabled and carer doctoral students: Mode of study, challenges, drivers and mitigation of challenges, and the suitability of training grants to address these challenges
Richards, J., Sang, K., Napier, J., Lin, D., Wedgwood, B. & Kennedy, R., 30 Jan 2025, UKRI. 79 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
Open AccessFile130 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
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Principal's Research Impact and Engagement Award Winner
Stewart, M. E. (Recipient), Nisbet, B. (Recipient) & Sang, K. (Recipient), 12 Jun 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Research Culture Recognition Award
Sang, K. (Recipient), 10 Jun 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Principals Impact Award PRIME
Sang, K. (Recipient), Jun 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand (AIRAANZ) conference 2026
Richards, J. (Participant), Saxena, S. (Participant), Collins, J. (Participant) & Sang, K. (Participant)
28 Jan 2026 → 30 Jan 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in conference
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Disability inclusion in the workplace
Sang, K. (Speaker)
28 Mar 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Disability and innovation: how do disabled and neurodivergent inventors navigate intellectual property rights processes?
Thompson, O. (Invited speaker), Sang, K. (Invited speaker) & Richards, J. (Invited speaker)
24 Nov 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Why intersectionality matters: talk for the Chartered Institute of Management
Sang, K. (Speaker)
26 Nov 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Working time and equality, diversity and inclusion: A literature review and implications for fair work
Richards, J. (Invited speaker), Sang, K. (Invited speaker) & Stronge, W. (Invited speaker)
20 Feb 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
Press/Media
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Managers want to support disabled and neurodivergent staff but lack tools, study shows
Sang, K., Watson, F., Wedgwood, B., Richards, J. & Barker, G.
1/10/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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Managers 'lack tools to support disabled and neurodivergent staff'
Sang, K., Watson, F., Wedgwood, B., Barker, G. & Richards, J.
1/10/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Research
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Managers 'lack tools to support disabled and neurodivergent staff'
Sang, K., Watson, F., Wedgwood, B., Barker, G. & Richards, J.
30/09/25
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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How employers can support neurodivergent women's menstrual health
16/09/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Neurodivergent women ‘urgently’ need workplace support around menstrual health
7/09/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research