Postponed

Research programmes that centre knowledge exchange between academia and industry have long been the remit of disciplines outside of the social sciences. Areas such as engineering, chemistry and the biological sciences have a long tradition of partnering with industry experts to bring insights and innovations from research to fruition within society broadly conceived. As yet, knowledge exchange work between social sciences and external partners has proven to be an uncomfortable topic. Whilst academia regularly seeks the involvement of government and policy stakeholders, civil society organisations and target communities in research, a partnership with wider economic actors, e.g. private companies, has been seen as much less straightforward and more difficult to navigate.

In this paper we explore the potential for the social sciences, and more specifically, political sociology, to bring external partners and academia together through collaboration in work concerning Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. This conceptual paper explains how an innovative mixed-method approach combining social network analysis with in-depth interviews and focus groups can uncover structural barriers to equality within organisations. Whereas social network analysis provides insights into institutional dynamics, interviews and focus groups bring to light the experiences and narratives of communities within organisations. Understanding the voices of employees within organisations is critical to understanding how corporate behaviour, inclusion, and belonging is experienced and how organisational culture permeates different structures and values. Consultancy work in this space to date has centred either on piecemeal, anecdotal approaches or management driven approaches that focus on pay reporting. This paper explains how using feminist institutionalist approaches coupled with sociological research methods as part of a mixed method approach can elucidate the voices of the marginalised and minoritized within organisations, and work towards a holistic, comprehensive approach to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. In so doing, the paper is carving out a space for co-production with new economic actors that have a large impact on the life and experience of employees.