Committee Spotlight: Grainne Kelly
The voices that shape the DEIB Committee are diverse and dynamic. Our first spotlight focuses on Dr Grainne Kelly: Senior Lecturer in Organisation, Work and Leadership, and Director of the MSc HRM Programme.
What motivated you to join the DEIB Committee, and why is this work personally important to you?
I joined the DEIB Committee because this work reflects both my academic purpose and my personal values. Throughout my career as an educator and researcher, I’ve focused on how people experience and thrive at work, and I’ve consistently seen that inclusion is essential for individual and organisational flourishing.
My early research on expatriates and knowledge workers in multinational firms revealed how systems that appeared meritocratic often reproduced gendered career patterns, limiting women’s access to international opportunities.
This sparked my wider interest in how marginalised identities are shaped within organisations and how everyday HR practices can be redesigned to foster inclusion.
My current research explores late-career women’s experiences at the intersection of age, gender, and digital transformation, further reinforcing the importance of belonging and equitable practice.
Joining the DEIB Committee allows me to apply these insights and help cultivate a School environment grounded in fairness, dignity, and genuine opportunity for all.
How do you embed diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in your day-to-day work at Queen’s Business School?
For me, DEIB is not a separate initiative but a thread woven through all my teaching, research, service, and engagement at Queen’s Business School.
In my teaching, I design learning experiences that develop reflective, ethical, and inclusive HR practitioners. This includes the new MSc Capstone module Responsible People Management (launching 2026), which integrates SDG-linked reflection, sustainability storytelling, and ethical HRM practice, and features industry insight sessions with organisations leading in inclusive and sustainable people management.
I also lead an applied inclusive hiring project within the MSc HRM Programme, supported by industry-partner workshops that enhance learning while advancing equity in the curriculum.
My research examines how careers are shaped at the intersections of gender, age, organisational structures, and digitalisation, providing evidence to support more equitable career pathways.
In my leadership roles, I work to embed inclusive thinking across programmes and School culture, helping to create an environment where all members of our community feel valued and supported.
Can you share a DEIB-related initiative or moment you’re particularly proud of?
A recent highlight for me was contributing to the Northern Ireland Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace Conference 2025, hosted by the Institute of Government & Public Policy.
I delivered the keynote address, 'Beyond Labels – How to Make EDI Work for All', and joined a panel on navigating challenging EDI narratives. My keynote emphasised the importance of intersectionality and an ethics of care, arguing that meaningful EDI practice must acknowledge the interaction of multiple identities and prioritise interventions grounded in lived experience, care, and evidence.
During the panel, we explored how relational, care-based advocacy—rooted in listening, humility, and shared accountability—can help organisations navigate polarisation while remaining committed to fairness and inclusion.
As a Senior Lecturer in Organisation, Work and Leadership and Director of the MSc HRM Programme, this work aligns closely with my purpose: to ensure research contributes to dismantling inequality through inclusive leadership, reduced bias, and more equitable organisational outcomes.
What do you see as the biggest DEIB challenge or opportunity for our School right now?
One of the biggest challenges facing our School is the growing public and political backlash against DEI initiatives. This heightened scrutiny can create uncertainty, even as those of us who work in this field know the evidence for inclusion is strong and long-established.
Yet this climate also offers clarity: it requires us to reaffirm why inclusion is fundamental to academic excellence, responsible leadership, innovation, and positive societal impact.
In this context, I am especially proud of the School’s recent Athena Swan Silver Award. This achievement is not symbolic; it reflects rigorous data analysis, honest engagement with lived experiences, thoughtful policy redesign, and sustained structural improvement. It captures who we are as a community—committed to fairness, dignity, and opportunity.
Our greatest opportunity now is to build on this momentum. With solid foundations in place, we can continue embedding inclusion into our teaching, leadership practices, student experience, and everyday decision-making.
As Programme Director and a DEIB Committee member, I am committed to strengthening a culture where our values remain steady even amid debate, and where inclusion is approached with relationality, intention, and integrity. By embracing an ethics of care and human-centred practice, our School is well positioned to lead in values-driven academic excellence.
What would you encourage colleagues to do to help create a more inclusive Business School?
One thing I would encourage colleagues to do is to continue expanding the range of creative, participatory teaching methods they use. An example of this is LEGO® Serious Play, which can open multiple pathways for students to express their thinking and engage more confidently.
MSc HRM class 2024-25 using LEGO® Serious Play to foster participation
Alongside this, I would also encourage colleagues to deepen their involvement with initiatives that support our role as a University of Sanctuary. By enriching our classroom practices and strengthening our external partnerships, we can continue to create an inclusive Business School that aligns fully with Queen’s DEIB commitments and Strategy 2030.
