Sustainability in action: United Nations Principles of Responsible Management Education (UN PRME)

Dr Deirdre Anderson Director of Gender, Leadership and Inclusion Research Centre

Deirdre is a Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour and Occupational Psychology based in the Organisational Behaviour and Applied Psychology Group. She is Director of Cranfield’s Gender, Leadership and Inclusion Centre - a thriving community of researchers and practitioners investigating factors influencing equity, diversity and inclusion at work, interrogating power and privilege, and lobbying for, and pioneering, solutions for a more representative workforce with full and effective participation and equal access to opportunities for all.

“There is a pressing need for a greater understanding of power and privilege, and how that affects people’s experiences of employment and career progression. Historically, many people have been disadvantaged and categorised as a “minority” on the basis of their race, ethnicity, a disability, or sexual orientation. They experience microaggressions, negativity and even open hostility, while others, the so-called majority, may receive micro-affirmations

from the warmth of a greeting or a tap on the shoulder about an opportunity. At the same time, we see recruitment, selection

and promotion processes that continue to hide their bias behind the concept of

meritocracy, or hiring ‘the best person for the job’. The Cranfield Gender, Leadership and Inclusion Centre exists to accelerate workplaces and organisations towards being genuinely representative and inclusive of the societies they inhabit, creating a fairer world for us all.”