Introduction: The Royal College of Occupational Therapists’ Workforce Strategy for England identified racial and gender diversity as issues affecting overall workforce demographics. Nevertheless, very little is known about how these issues manifest in the academic workforce.
Objectives: This study aims to understand how race and gender impact minoritized members of the occupational therapy academic workforce in English higher education institutions.
Methods: All aspects of this study were underpinned by intersectional research design. Participants were recruited through purposive as well as snowball sampling. Data collection is currently ongoing, facilitated through two-to-one online semi-structured interviews using the Kawa Model. Preliminary findings were generated through an iterative approach via reflexive thematic analysis.
Results / Practice Implications: Preliminary findings demonstrate how participants’ intersecting identities relevant to race, gender and other demographic characteristics influence interpersonal workplace interactions as well as interactions with systems of power at both local institutional levels and against the macro-level backdrop of financial crisis across the English higher education sector. Participants discussed how these interactions shaped their navigation of day-to-day activities as well as career progression over the longer term. Insights are expected to contribute towards initiatives for recruitment, retention and career development.
Conclusion: This study sheds light on how structural inequalities specific to race and gender impact careers of minoritized individuals in the occupational therapy academic workforce. We argue that stakeholders involved in occupational therapy workforce research and policy must recognise and provide due consideration for how issues experienced by the academic workforce can have effects on future workforce development.