I am an Assistant Professor in Human Resource Management at Edinburgh Business School. My research focuses on advancing equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the workplace. I am the Principal Investigator of the Inclusive Careers in Engineering (ICE) project, which promotes equitable career progression for marginalised engineers, with a focus on the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender. I also serve as Co-Investigator and Deputy Leader of Workstream 1 in the £4.2 million EDI Caucus, funded by UKRI and the British Academy. This national initiative seeks to advance EDI across the research and innovation sector. Workstream 1 explores how key life and career events, particularly menstruation and (peri)menopause, shape career trajectories, with the aim of informing more inclusive policy and practice.

My broader research interests include workplace commitment, belonging, psychological contracts, and organisational socialisation in both physical and virtual workspaces. I am also interested in emerging work contexts such as cross-boundary, temporary, remote, and hybrid environments.

I earned my PhD from the University of Bath in 2020, where my research examined how organisational socialisation influences workplace commitment during internships, in collaboration with three UK professional service firms. I hold a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and am an academic member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

I am committed to improving individual work experiences and career development by fostering inclusive, accessible, and supportive workplace environments. I actively contribute to both academic and practitioner discussions. I have engaged with practitioners and decision-makers as an invited speaker at the Scottish Ethnic Minority Talent Summit (2024, 2025), addressing workplace and mentorship inclusivity. I also served on the 2025 Awards judging panel, reviewing diversity and inclusion initiatives across governmental, private, and third-sector organisations. In addition, I led a workshop supporting collaboration between Public Health Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on staff networks to enhance EDI initiatives.

Research interests: equality, diversity & inclusion; career development; inclusive careers; intersectional characteristics; menstrual health inclusion; artificial intelligence and HRM; fair work; workplace commitment; organisational socialisation; virtual socialisation; remote and hybrid settings; flexible work arrangement.

Research methods expertise: qualitative and mixed-methods research; focus groups; interviews; surveys; intersectional approaches; co-design methodologies.

Current Projects

EDI Caucus (2022–present)
I am a Co-Investigator and Deputy Leader of Workstream 1 on this £4.2 million project funded by UKRI and the British Academy, led by Professor Kate Sang in collaboration with colleagues at HWU and other UK HEIs. The project aims to advance equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the research and innovation sector. Workstream 1 explores how key career and life events intersect to shape inclusion, offering recommendations to reduce systemic barriers.

Inclusive Careers in Engineering (ICE) Project (2024–present)

I am the Principal Investigator (PI) of the ICE research project, which aims to advance organisational inclusion by promoting equitable career progression for marginalised engineers, with a particular focus on the intersection of ethnicity/race and gender, as well as other dimensions such as disability and caring responsibilities. We are collaborating with project advisors including Professor Lisa-Dionne Morris (University of Leeds) and Professor Emeritus Bob Reuben (EPS, HWU), and industrial partners such as Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE), Black Women in Engineering (BWEng), and SiSTEM. This project is funded by the British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant (2025–26).

Collaboration with Public Health Scotland (PHS) (2025–present)
I hold an honorary research position with Public Health Scotland, contributing to the Equity and Justice Cross-Organisational Programme. My work supports the ongoing development of anti-racism and workplace inclusion initiatives aligned with the Scottish Government's agenda.

AI in Career Advising (ACA): Perceptions of Bias and Trust project (2025–present)

I am the Principal Investigator for this collaboration with the University of St Gallen, Switzerland. The project examines users’ perceptions of the inclusivity, fairness, and effectiveness of AI-powered career advice, with the aim of informing strategies to reduce bias and enhance the value of AI-generated guidance. Its broader objective is to support early-career individuals, particularly university students and recent graduates, in accessing effective, accessible, and cost-efficient AI-supported career guidance. We are collaborating with career services at both institutions as advisors.

Disabled Researchers in AI: Why Diversity and Inclusion Matter project. (2025- present)
The project is led by the University of Glasgow in collaboration with HWU and Kingston University. It investigates the experiences of disabled, neurodivergent, and Deaf researchers in AI, identifying barriers and the support required to enhance inclusion.

Doctoral Research Supervision
I currently supervise doctoral projects exploring the following topics:

• The integration of generative AI in HR departments and its practical implications (case study in Germany) – Anke Ishorst (DBA)
• The role of training in enhancing the employability of ex-offenders in the US – Allison McPhendran (DBA)
• The impact of flexibility and work–life balance on employee creativity in UK higher education – Diana Adjei Nyarko (PhD)

Previous Projects

Virtual Socialisation and Workplace Commitment (2020–2024)
I was the Principal Investigator of this collaborative study with colleagues from the University of Bath, UK, and the University of Patras, Greece. The project investigated how the richness of media channels used in remote and hybrid working environments influences newcomer socialisation and shapes workplace commitment and belonging. It was funded by the School of Social Sciences at HWU.

• Global course leader for HRM courses at the undergraduate level across three campuses (Edinburgh, Dubai, Malaysia) (2020–present).
• Member of the leadership team, serving as Third-Year Coordinator for the Graduate Apprenticeship Programme at Edinburgh Business School (2025–present).
• Course leader for five MBA HRM courses (2020–2023).