News and Blog

In our last blog post we looked at how WISERD’s free interactive mapping tool UnionMaps reveals the complex patterns in trade union membership that exist across Great Britain. Analysis revealed that the overall downward trend in union density that is observed across Great Britain as a whole masks very different local fortunes for the trade…

Recent waves of strike action by nurses, train drivers, ambulance drivers, university lecturers, teachers and others besides has highlighted the prominent position that trade unions continue to hold within the UK. An important factor that determines the power and influence of trade unions, either within an organisation or across a sector, is the proportion of…

A recent report published by Welsh Government highlights the benefits and limitations of enhanced data utilisation to deliver careers services in Wales.   Welsh Government commissioned ADR Wales researchers to undertake a study to examine the policy and legislative context within which the national careers provider, Careers Wales operates, the utility of data holdings of Careers Wales and other organisations,…

A new Global Labor Organization (GLO) discussion paper by Melanie Jones and GLO Fellow Ezgi Kaya has been published. The paper finds that large firms have smaller within-firm raw gender pay gaps and similar unexplained gender pay gaps when compared to smaller firms. Read more and download the paper on the GLO website.

New research from the Clean Clothes Campaign and WISERD at Cardiff University reveals the urgent need for expansion of the International Accord in Pakistan, a legally binding safety agreement to protect workers. 2022 marks 10 years since the horrific Ali Enterprises fire that killed over 250 garment workers in Pakistan yet rights for workers in…

On 11 July 2022, Professor Alan Felstead gave evidence to the Equality and Social Justice Committee on legislation currently before the Senedd. The legislation puts social partnership at the heart of the Welsh government’s approach to how it, and public bodies it supports, promote the well-being of its citizens. This approach follows recommendations given by…

Today (25th May), the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) released its latest figures for trade union membership. The long-term downward trend in union membership in the UK is well known.  Based on union records, trade union membership within the UK peaked in 1979 at approximately 13.2 million. Since then, there has been…

Cardiff’s new sbarc|spark hub will bring together researchers to connect across social science research disciplines to create new ways of working. Professor Sally Power, WISERD, recently published a paper examining calls for an ‘evidence ecosystem’ to address the disconnect between university-led education research, and education policy and practice. Here, she shares thoughts on what the Social…

The Migration Research Wales Network held an online symposium on 19th January for postgraduates and early-career researchers working on aspects of migration in Wales or based at Welsh institutions. The theme of the symposium was ‘New Perspectives on Migration’. Presentations covered research areas ranging from Italians in Wales, refugee women and Welshness, and the challenges facing LGBTQ+…

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated inequalities in society. In doing so, it has reinforced the importance of the government’s ‘levelling up’ policy agenda. In terms of protected characteristics, attention focused most immediately on ethnicity given the differences in health risk posed by COVID-19 and was subsequently concerned with gender as a result of…