Working on the Margins: Lived Experiences, Career Trajectories and Prospect
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The panel will explore how workers in Australia are faring on the margins of the labor market. Even when unemployment rates are low, many workers on the margins face challenging circumstances, particularly those who are often most vulnerable. Drawing insights from three experts, this session will unpack how LGBTQ people, women and those working in insecure work are faring. Ultimately, this panel will underscore the challenges faced by many Australian workers with the aim of providing insights towards concrete policy solutions to create more equal and fair workplaces.
Speakers
Professor Irma Mooi-Reci
Irma Mooi-Reci is Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne, and Deputy Editor of the renowned journal Gender & Society. Irma is a leading expert on labour market research and life course dynamics. She is internationally known for her work on the socio-economic consequences of insecure work arrangements and joblessness for workers and their families. Her recent research funded by the Australian Research Council focuses on the changing nature of employment arrangements and fertility behaviour. Her research has appeared in Human Relations, Social Forces, Gender & Society, European Sociological Review, and other academic journals.
Dr Signe Ravn
Signe Ravn (she/her) is Senior Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Her research interests include youth, risk, marginalization, gender, temporality and qualitative methodologies. Her work is published in a number of high-impact journals such as Sociology, Current Sociology, British Journal of Sociology of Education and New Media & Society. Signe published the co-authored book Youth, Risk, Routine: A New Perspective on Risk-taking in Young Lives (with Tea Bengtsson) with Routledge in 2019. She sits on the editorial boards of Time & Society and Qualitative Research, is a co-founder of the Narrative Network at the University of Melbourne and co-hosts the podcast Narrative Now.
Dr Megan Sharp
Megan Sharp (she/her) holds a dual position at the University of Melbourne. She is a Lecturer in Sociology within the Faculty of Arts, and a researcher of Diversity and Inclusion in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. Her research focuses on youth, genders and sexualities, subcultures and work. Megan has received a number of awards and prizes for her teaching, research and engagement activities and has published in journals such as Emotion, Space and Society, Journal of Youth Studies, The Sociological Review, and Gender, Work and Organisation. Currently, she researches the experiences of LGBTQ+ people employed in service industries through a UniMelb Early Career Researcher Grant. Megan is also the Convenor of The Australian Sociological Association’s Genders + Sexualities Thematic Group and the outgoing Staff Chair of the University’s Pride in Action Network.
Professor Dan Woodman (Moderator)
Professor Dan Woodman is TR Ashworth Professor of Sociology in the School of Social and Political Sciences and Deputy Associate Dean Research Impact and Engagement in the Faculty of Arts. He was previously a Research Fellow in the Research School of Social Science at the Australian National University (2009-2011) and a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne’s Youth Research Centre (2005-2009).
