Emma Banister

Professor of Marketing

A major focus of Emma's research is on families, fathers and gender equality. As she explains: "I've always been very interested in identity. My work around fatherhood and the transition to fatherhood stemmed from this sense that being a father is not really talked about at work. I had already done research around the transition to motherhood and I wanted to know more about what it's like for fathers, and in particular how becoming a dad fits in with expectations around work and existing gender norms."

Shared Parental Leave

This area of research happened to coincide with the introduction of the Shared Parental Leave (SPL) policy by the UK government which has given Emma's work added impetus and significance. In particular, as the policy was rolled out she wanted to look at its initial impact and opportunities as well as the challenges this presented for couples.

"We began speaking to fathers who had taken shared parental leave and talking through their reasons for doing do. The study specifically focused on the lived experiences of 25 professionally employed fathers who were first wave beneficiaries of SPL. We have since continued to track these same men and have therefore been able to research the longer term impact of the policy."

Influence

Emma says her research into SPL has influenced her academic career in many ways since. "What I have loved about this particular research is that it has enabled me to engage with something that feels very current and impactful. In particular it has enabled me to branch out from my existing academic networks, for instance feeding into the BEIS (Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) review of SPL and working closely with charities like Working Families, Fatherhood Institute and the Medical Women's Foundation. For me personally I've found having these conversations outside the world of academia have been really important."

World of work

The pandemic has had a huge impact on the way we work and another research project Emma is involved with is working with colleagues on supporting a major new £6.5m research centre into the world of work funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

The Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (Digit) is exploring how new digital technologies are profoundly reshaping the world of work and will produce new evidence for policy makers, businesses, and unions on effective adoption of digital technology, the future of skills requirements and productivity.

Adds Emma: "The centre will be an essential resource for those wanting to understand how new digital technologies are profoundly reshaping the world of work. Drawing on resources from different academic fields of study, Digit will provide theoretically informed, empirically innovative rigorous analysis and international insights into the impact of digitalisation on work."

As part of the project Emma is specifically looking at digitalisation in professional work, alongside colleagues Debra Howcroft, Jill Rubery, Isabel Tavora and Laura Jarvis-King, focusing on two case studies in the law and technology sectors.

Emma is particularly interested in the work/family interface and how and whether employees create boundaries between their work and non-work lives using digital means, particularly with regards to the move towards more use of home working.

Consumer research

Another major focus for Emma is around consumer research and she co-chairs the Consumer Research with Impact for Society (CRIS) special interest group, affiliated with the Academy of Marketing. Its aim is to bring together consumer researchers working on socially impactful work.

Her current work in this area focuses on the challenges and opportunities of collaborative working as well as various projects including the consumption of music, tattoos and second-hand objects.