Research
Women in research Last year the University was proud to receive the prestigious Athena SWAN Bronze award which recognises and celebrates good employment practice for women in science, engineering and technology (SET) in higher education and research. We talk to three female researchers from the University who were part of the Athena SWAN submission team about their perspectives on women in research.
Karen Bill, Associate Dean Karen is the Athena SWAN Champion for the University. As Director of the Research Centre for Sport, Exercise and Performance, her research interests include sport law, sports management and lately sports entrepreneurship. Karen has conducted research into graduate business start-ups, and more recently business performance and the development of emotional intelligence. She is also a Director for Enterprise Educators UK. Tracey Devonport, Reader in Sport and Exercise Psychology Tracey is accredited with the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) for scientific support (Psychology), is registered as a Sport and Exercise Psychologist and is a Chartered Psychologist. Her primary research interests include emotion regulation and the development of coping competencies amongst junior national athletes. Debra Cureton, Research Fellow Debra is a Senior Research Fellow based in the Research Policy Unit where she leads the ‘What Works at Wolves Programme’ into improving student retention and progression. With research interests also in mentoring and coaching, Debra previously led the University’s staff mentoring scheme and is Chair of the Research in Coaching and Mentoring Network. www.wlv.ac.uk/alumni
What made you decide to go into research? Karen: “When I graduated from my first degree, I was fortunate to have a positive female role model – Dr Anita White – who saw merit in my work. I spent a year living down in Chichester to publish my undergraduate thesis which then got published in the British Journal of Sociology Sport. It felt like serendipity – having a tutor see some value in my work and helping me to become published.” Debra: “It was the same for me. My undergraduate degree in Psychology was heavily research based and I loved every minute of it, so my Professor suggested I consider researching a PhD. I didn’t think that someone like me could get a PhD, but under my Professor’s guidance I developed a research proposal and started a year later. I’ve never looked back!” Tracey: “I am motivated and inspired by research that tests and builds upon knowledge, in particular knowledge that can positively inform applied practice. Gustave Le Bon (1879) argued that “All psychologists who have studied the intelligence of women, as well as poets and novelists, recognise today that they represent the most inferior forms of human evolution and that they are closer to children and savages than to an adult civilised man”. If we were to accept these contentions, Athena SWAN would be redundant!”
What do you consider the positive aspects of engaging in research? Karen: “I enjoy the intellectual challenge. There is something very cathartic about seeing your name on a finished piece of work. I also love doing collaborative research – meeting likeminded people, sharing ideas and expressing opinions. It is very stimulating.” Tracey: “Research informs and enhances my teaching, and I can bring research to life by reflecting on my own experiences in class so that it becomes a less abstract concept. I also enjoy listening to people’s descriptions of life experiences, evaluating how well that fits with existing theory and, where appropriate, challenging theory with alternatives.” Debra: “For me, I love the opportunity that research provides to dig and delve into an area and to understand a situation from different perspectives. Research provides the opportunity to learn new and novel things about a situation, and if you are lucky, the chance to positively influence practice or provide opportunities for others. Those rare occasions make all the hard work worthwhile.” What challenges do you feel there are for women in research? Karen: “Research can be very dislocated for women due to family commitments – suddenly time becomes limited and even finding independent space can be difficult. In certain subjects there are also fewer female researchers, which I believe has a knock-on effect, making it harder for females to research.”