Work and Equalities Institute

#DecentWork isn’t just about making a living—it’s about living well.

Management Teams Need AI To Be More Disagreeable How setting up AI to be more disagreeable and challenge ideas can help to enhance corporate decision making at the boardroom level.

WEI lecturer Imran Saqib has a new article published in
@forbes.com based on a study of a consortium of LLMs.

It shows the strengths and weaknesses of AI vs human decision making and the importance of 'human' in human resource management.

Read more here bit.ly/4ambIhu

📊 Last year's Pankhurst–Fawcett Scorecard showed inequality still touched every area of life for women and girls in #GreaterManchester. What will the 2026 Scorecard reveal?

Join us online, 6 Feb, 12–2pm and be part of the conversation about what happens next: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gm4women20...

Countries face many challenges in achieving #DecentWork for all.

Social dialogue paves the way by fostering collaboration and integrated policymaking.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/KZ5750UoAH7

A woman presenting to a group of people in a seminar room. A man stands on the right in front of a purple banner.

Thanks to Virginia Doellgast for sharing in-depth findings, and to all who attended and engaged in this insightful presentation.

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#WorkerVoice #Work #Equalities #Fairness #Employment #WorksCouncils #EqualityinWorkplaces

The German experience highlights the importance of legal frameworks and shared goals for successful worker engagement with AI. Lessons for organisations navigating workplace change!

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Unions and works councils played a crucial role in negotiating AI’s implementation, often blocking or shaping management decisions to benefit workers.

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A woman presenting to a group of people in a seminar room.

Strong collective worker voice in German firms – driven by laws, agreements, and shared narratives – led to better outcomes for employees facing AI-driven changes.

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AI in the workplace can automate work & management tasks. Outcomes include job replacement but also empowerment, depending on how technology is implemented.

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A woman presenting a presentation at a screen with a desk.

Ginny’s study focused on companies like British Telecom, Deutsche Telecom & IBM. She explored how unions & works councils shape AI adoption and workplace practices, especially in German companies.

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A woman presenting at a screen with a purple banner to the right of the image

Last week WEI & the Manchester Industrial Relations Society hosted Virginia Doellgast (Cornell, US) at @alliancembs.bsky.social

Ginny shared research conducted 2020-2024 on AI’s impact on call centre jobs in the US, Canada, Germany & Norway.

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Job vacancy at @alliancembs.bsky.social to work with the WEI as Professor in Human Resource Management and/or Employment Relations, contributing world-leading research with a strong focus on academic, societal and economic impact

More details here: bit.ly/4q7TDdE

Closing date: 6th January 2026

Human rights have no office hours.

Wednesday is #HumanRightsDay.

Advancing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Through Voice for All: The Role of Employee Resource Groups Employee resource groups (ERGs), also known as diversity networks or affinity groups, are becoming an increasingly important element of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) management in organizat....

📘New article!

Isabel Tavora, Imran Saqib and Saleema Kauser have a new article published in the British Journal of Management

Advancing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Through Voice for All: The Role of Employee Resource Groups

Read the full article here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

... with the aim of investigating the conditions for workers to establish collective voice in these decisions.

Virginia Doellgast's research focuses on the comparative political economy of labor markets and labor unions, inequality, precarity, and democracy at work.

Only a few days to go until the lecture!

The talk is titled "Building worker voice and power in AI decisions: Three cases in the German ICT industry"

It is based on a paper comparing works council initiatives to influence the adoption and deployment of AI-based tools in three German ICT companies

WEI and MiRS Lecture 2025 with Professor Virginia Doellgast Building worker voice and power in AI decisions: Three cases in the German ICT industry

1️⃣ One week to go!

📢 WEI Annual Lecture with Professor Virginia Doellgast!

The WEI Annual Lecture 2025 will be co-hosted with the Manchester Industrial Relations Society (MIRS)

📅 Thursday 11th December
🕒 15:00-16:30
📍 Alliance Manchester Business School

Free registration bit.ly/3LskO3L

Forced labour and slavery are not a thing of the past.

🔴 Almost 50 million people were in modern slavery in 2021.

Nothing can justify this human rights abuse today.

#EndModernSlavery

Lots of tickets still available for our annual lecture on Thursday 11th December!

Details and free registration via the link below 👇

Lots of tickets still available for our annual lecture on Thursday 11th December!

Details and free registration via the link below 👇

How will the conclusions of #SocialSummit2025 shape the future of work?

The final episode of our special podcast series looks at what renewed commitments on poverty eradication, #DecentWork and social inclusion mean in practice.

🎧 Listen now: ow.ly/XOL250XvNxz

Today we celebrate International Women’s Entrepreneurship Day!

Women’s entrepreneurship is crucial for social and economic development, and represents a powerful pathway to advance gender equality in the world of work.

👩‍💻👩‍🎨👩‍🚀👩‍⚕️👩‍🍳👩‍🏫👩‍🔧👩‍🔬👩‍⚖️👩‍🌾👩‍✈️👩‍🚒👮‍♀️

The @ilo’s Governing Body holds its 355th Session at ILO headquarters in Geneva from 17 to 27 November 2025.

🗞️More info: www.ilo.org/ilo-governin...

Bargaining on the front line: What role did collective bargaining play in protecting/advancing the interests of front-line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic? Drawing on 12 case studies across 10 countries of how trade unions and collective bargaining institutions supported front-line workers in healthcare, social care and food retail, this article finds th...

📘New article in International Labour Review @ilo.org

Jill Rubery, Isabel Távora, Eva Herman, Abbie Winton & Alejandro Castillo write about the role of collective bargaining for key workers during #COVID19

bit.ly/4oGhAbn

@alliancembs.bsky.social @manchester.ac.uk @universityofleeds.bsky.social

WEI and MiRS Lecture 2025 with Professor Virginia Doellgast Building worker voice and power in AI decisions: Three cases in the German ICT industry

📢 WEI Annual Lecture with Professor Virginia Doellgast!

The WEI Annual Lecture 2025 will be co-hosted with the Manchester Industrial Relations Society (MIRS)

📅 Thursday 11th December
🕒 15:00-16:30
📍 Alliance Manchester Business School

Please register attendance via Eventbrite: bit.ly/3LskO3L

At the Work and Equalities Institute, our agenda is to identify and promote the conditions for more inclusive, equal and fairer work and employment arrangements.

Read more about our Research and Impact and Engagement:

🔍 www.wei.manchester.ac.uk/research/
📘 www.wei.manchester.ac.uk/impact-and-e...

Portrait of Gary Younge and Faber members logo and 10th anniversary badge

FABER LECTURE: Pigeonholed: Creative freedom as an act of resistance - Gary Younge

📅 Thurs 16 Oct 2025 7pm
📍Friends’ Meeting House, Manchester
🎫Tickets & more info on Faber website

@uomcreativemcr.bsky.social @uomhums.bsky.social @uomsoss.bsky.social
www.faber.co.uk/product/uom-...

A celebration of 80 Years of Excellence in #OccupationalHealth at @thomasashtoninst.bsky.social event 🎉

📆Wednesday 1st October
🕐1pm start

See more details and the link to register below👇