{"id":8061,"date":"2025-12-17T15:31:04","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T15:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/?p=8061"},"modified":"2025-12-18T14:01:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T14:01:41","slug":"the-impact-of-hybrid-working-on-black-women-academics-navigating-visibility-care-and-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/research-external-engagement\/the-impact-of-hybrid-working-on-black-women-academics-navigating-visibility-care-and-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Research with purpose: The impact of hybrid working on Black women academics: navigating visibility, care and change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When we talk about hybrid working in higher education, the conversation often centres on flexibility and productivity. But for Black women academics, one of the most under-represented groups in UK universities, the reality is far more complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new study led by Dr Tinkuma Edafioghor<\/a><\/strong> and Dr Ifeoma Dan-Ogosi<\/strong> <\/a>explores how hybrid working affects the visibility, wellbeing, and career progression of Black women in academia. Funded by the EDI Caucus, their project, The Impact of Hybrid Working on Black Women Academics: Productivity and Visibility in Post-COVID Higher Education<\/em>, is shedding light on the unseen labour and unspoken rules that continue to shape academic life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, the pair presented their early findings at the European Sociological Association Interim Conference in Lund, Sweden, a milestone that signalled both the international reach and urgent relevance of their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHybrid working doesn\u2019t necessarily create new problems but it can amplify existing ones.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Dr Edafioghor explained that the project is about more than just flexible working patterns; it\u2019s about understanding how equity is (or isn\u2019t) built into the systems universities rely on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at things like visibility, career progression, emotional wellbeing, productivity, and how people balance work with their personal lives,\u201d she said.
\u201cWe already know that Black women are one of the most under-represented groups in UK academia. Because of that, they often face challenges around being seen, being heard, and being recognised. Hybrid working doesn\u2019t necessarily create new problems, but it can amplify things that were already there if institutions don\u2019t intentionally build equity into their hybrid models.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team is conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups with Black women across different universities, disciplines, and career stages – using a co-design approach so participants can directly shape the questions and the recommendations that will follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At its heart, this project fills a critical evidence gap. While post-COVID research on hybrid working has been extensive, very little focuses specifically on Black women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to make sure the evidence isn\u2019t just theory – it\u2019s grounded in the real lived experiences of people working in these hybrid systems,\u201d Dr Edafioghor explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study\u2019s innovation can be described as two-fold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, the project takes an intersectional, evidence-based look at hybrid working, showing that while many academics value flexibility, experiences of it are shaped by race, gender, and structural position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe model itself isn\u2019t the problem,\u201d she explained. \u201cBut people experience it differently depending on their position in the system and equity has to be intentionally built in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second, the co-design methodology sets this project apart. Instead of being about<\/em> people, it\u2019s being developed with<\/em> them. Black women academics have been central in shaping the questions, the analysis, and the emerging recommendations.

One of the strongest insights to emerge is the sheer range of skills Black women deploy daily that often go unrecognised:<\/p>\n\n\n\n