Researcher in Focus: Professor Caroline Gatrell

Posted on: 27 June 2018 by Nick Jones in 2018 Posts

This month's Researcher in Focus is Professor Caroline Gatrell, Associate Dean of Research in the Management School. Caroline's research centres on work, family and health. From a socio-cultural perspective, she examines how working parents (both mothers and fathers) manage the boundaries between paid work and their everyday lives.

Caroline says:

I joined the University Liverpool in October 2016 as Professor of Organisation Studies in the Management School, where I am now Associate Dean, Research.

My research centres on work, family and health. From a socio-cultural perspective, I examine how working parents (both mothers and fathers) manage the boundaries between paid work and their everyday lives.

In so doing, I explore the relationships between gender, bodies and employment, including development of the concept 'Maternal Body Work'. This notion describes how pregnant women, and/or mothers of infant children try to meet social expectations of 'good' mothering, while also seeking to present themselves, at work, as committed employees. This can be challenging for mothers:  I have argued that ‘maternal bodies’ (with potential for child bearing and rearing) may be treated unfairly as ‘taboo’ in the workplace, especially during pregnancy and immediately post-birth.

Towards the end of this year, though, I will be concentrating on Fathers. This is because I have just gained a Leverhulme Fellowship (starting November 2018 for 12 months) with a focus on paternity and the body. I shall be seeking to understand more about how fathers of dependent children reconcile masculine images of men as ‘ideal workers’ with notions of involved fatherhood, and the physical care of infant children.

I am delighted to have gained the Leverhulme Fellowship. I look forward to making the most of this opportunity, and to stepping back into my Associate Dean role on my return.

Find out more about Caroline, her research and publications here.