LGBTQ+ Research Group

Research on multiplicity and fluidity in marginalised identities led Professor Patricia MacCormack to work with UK businesses and employer training organisations to create inclusive, supportive working environments for LGBTQIA+ people, and address issues of intersectionality.

Professor Nick Drydakis's research into the experiences of sexual-orientation and gender-identity minorities in the workplace highlighted a range of associated problems that were previously unnoticed. Professor Drydakis has worked with national and international institutions and organisations to update their policies and guidance in order to improve employment rates, pay, and job satisfaction for LGBT staff.

At the end of 2023, Professor Catherine Meads finished a large project about teaching sexual orientation and gender identity health concepts to health professionals. The project report was published in 2024.

Professor Meads has also prepared two other papers. The first is on the cost effectiveness of teaching health professionals about sexual orientation – using cervical smear issues as an example; the second is titled The Impact of Role Models on The Mental and Physical Health of Sexual and Gender Minorities.

Previously, Professor Meads conducted research into the experiences of LGBT+ women when accessing healthcare, highlighting the need for consistent education for healthcare professionals.

Professor Catherine Lee and Daniel Burman are authors of an article (submitted for review) titled A Beacon of Inclusion for our Whole Community: Examining a UK University’s Civic Role with their Local LGBTQ+ Community.

The article explores the civic role of a UK university in fostering LGBTQ+ inclusion. It presents findings from a survey conducted at a Pride event, revealing the LGBTQ+ community’s expectations of the university as a beacon of inclusion. The study identifies key themes such as visibility and awareness, safe and inclusive spaces, support services, and education. Respondents express a desire for the university to be a hub for the LGBTQ+ community, offering educational opportunities, resources, and networking events.

Underscoring the university’s responsibility to create environments where LGBTQ+ individuals feel valued, supported and empowered, the article concludes by highlighting the transformative potential of universities in advancing LGBTQ+ rights and fostering a culture of inclusivity beyond their campuses.

This research contributes to ongoing efforts aimed at creating more equitable and supportive environments for LGBTQ+ individuals within the educational landscape of the UK.

At ARU, Professor Catherine Lee and Dan Burman (co-leads of the University's LGBTQ+ staff network), introduced the UK’s first higher education LGBTQ+ leadership development programme. The programme is funded by ARU.

LGBTQ+ Leaders is open to staff at any level, from any university, in both academic and professional services. It includes three leadership development days, and explores areas such as:

• routes into leadership and inspirational leaders
• communication and presentation skills
• leadership identity and practice
• breaking down barriers and influencing cultural change
• building leadership networks.

Staff are allocated an LGBTQ+ mentor who works 1:1 with them during and between the leadership development days to help them achieve their goals.

The impact of the programme, which was really positive for LGBTQ+ staff, is covered in a research paper that has been submitted for publication, and will be presented at a conference in 2024.

Patricia MacCormack, Professor of Continental Studies at ARU, has recently completed a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship on Death Activism as part of the Queer Death Studies network, the Bio Arts Lab and other arts-based research centres. This involved examining the way in which LGBTQIA+ people are vulnerable in necropolitics, and the intersectional relations between queer being, ecology and activism. Prof MacCormack presented lectures in Norkoping, Stockholm, Linkoping, Belgrade and is just about to submit a new book, Death Activism: Queer Death Studies and the Posthuman, to Bloomsbury.