Global inequalities | Research beacons | The University of Manchester

Global inequalities | Research beacons | The University of Manchester Global inequalities 200+ Dedicated researchers working across our three Faculties. 20+ Interdisciplinary research institutes. 650+ Academics researching in areas relating to Sustainable Development Goal 10, reducing inequalities. #BeeWell A wellbeing measurement and improvement framework for secondary schools in Greater Manchester. Racial bias Tackling racial bias and the lack of diversity within the UK judiciary system. African cities Tackling complex problems in the continent’s rapidly changing cities through the African Cities Consortium. Sustainable forests Understanding the changing nature of forest cover and human development at an unprecedented scale and detail. Altered life courses Exploring austerity and socio-political ruptures to family, employment and housing biographies across Europe. Prosecuting rap Challenging the use and criminalisation of rap in the criminal justice system Displacement Investigating and analysing the impact of artistic responses to displacement and refugeedom. Shifting South Understanding how trade is changing in Africa and the impact this has on businesses, standards and working conditions. Fighting inequalities and changing lives at home and abroad Across the world, and in our own city of Manchester, inequalities exist across food, healthcare, infrastructure and resources. Our researchers are dedicated to exploring the roots of inequality and co-creating sustainable solutions across its many aspects, from poverty to social justice, living conditions and equality in the workplace. We bring together the best minds in medicine, business, law, social sciences and the arts to listen, collaborate and help to change the lives of communities at home and worldwide. Our approach involves actively engaging with and listening to communities, working together to instigate positive transformations in the lives of people both locally and globally. Our research covers Exploring and understanding how a person’s identity from age, to gender, race, disability and LGBTQ+ status, can determine experiences of inequality. Through research we look to tackle these inequalities within and between groups. Discover research highlights Research addressing how environmental factors, including healthcare systems, access to resources, food insecurity, cost of living, education, history and memory, shape the inequalities people face. Discover research highlights Examining the factors that prevent people from participating in decisions that affect their lives and creating solutions through arts and culture, listening, collaborating and changing policy. Discover research highlights Conducting research that is rooted in experience and tied to practical solutions that make a real difference such as training, capacity building and support for policymakers and practitioners working to alleviate inequalities. Discover research highlights Key institutes Global Development Institute Driving forward new ideas to promote sustainable development and social justice for all. Discover more Work and Equalities Institute Identifying and promoting the conditions required for more inclusive and fair employment and work arrangements. Discover more Manchester Urban Institute Creating more inclusive and just cities that are environmentally and socially sustainable for current and future generations. Discover more Sustainable Consumption Institute Responding to multiple sustainability challenges, from climate change and resource scarcity to social inequality and environmental injustice. Discover more News See all news Show previous news story Show next news story Ethnic land rights fail to provide Afro-Colombians with economic security The legal rights designed to protect Afro-Colombian communities are not lifting them out of economic precarity - and are leaving them vulnerable to the illegal drug trade and illicit mining as a result - according to new research from The University of Manchester. Leverhulme Trust and Wellcome Trust Combine Support Leverhulme Trust and Wellcome Trust combine support for the Humanitarian Archive Emergency (HAE) project based at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at The University of Manchester in partnership with The University of Manchester Library. This co-funded initiative responds to a critical shortfall in the digital infrastructure underpinning humanitarian and global health research. With a combined investment of £608k, this 12-month scoping and research programme will mobilise international partnerships, develop rescue mechanisms for endangered datasets, and conduct vital inquiry to establish ethical triage frameworks to safeguard records. A Unified Response to a Growing Crisis Recent funding shifts have triggered sharp declines in Official Development Assistance, including the recent disbanding of USAID, the abolition of DFID, and cuts to Sweden’s SIDA, which were essential supporters of the knowledge infrastructure of humanitarian aid. These funding cuts threaten access to essential records and archives, such as:Demographic health surveys covering 763 million people most at riskRecords of attacks on healthcare and educationFood security and other essential health-related datasetsWithout urgent intervention, decades of digital archives and records that should be held and protected by UN agencies, NGOs, and faith-based organisations risk permanent erasure. This will not only significantly undermine the possibility of conducting future research but also threaten evidence-based operational decision-making and accountability.Over the next year, HAE will deploy a global coalition of archives and essential records stakeholders to conduct a comprehensive scoping exercise of at-risk archives, records, and datasets. The team will also develop a crowdsourcing tool that serves as a resilient early-warning system using technical processes for digital recovery and preservation. The research agenda will consider how to address colonial power dynamics in the politics of humanitarian archiving. Their aim is for these activities to culminate in a roadmap for sustainable research infrastructure to ensure long-term preservation and protection beyond this initial phase. “Preserving Memory Is Preserving Humanity” Professor Bertrand Taithe, Principal Investigator and co-founder of the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at The University of Manchester, commented: Collaborative Expertise and Global Reach The HAE consortium draws expertise from key international stakeholders, from leaders in the academic, NGO, digital preservation and humanitarian sectors. The group will collaborate via a coalition board to ensure the perspectives and expertise of all are reflected in the activities of the initiative. These stakeholders include:The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine (storage and redundancy)Digital Preservation Coalition and Open Preservation Foundation (technical guidance)Elrha, ALNAP and regional specialists (consultancy and field networks)University of Manchester’s Humanitarian Archive (curation and ethics)The Data Rescue Project (data rescue and access).For further details on the project, please contact: Professor Bertrand Taithe, Principal Investigator, HAE, Director of Research, Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, University of ManchesterDr Stephanie Rinaldi, Coalition Coordinator, HAE, Research Programmes Manager, Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, University of Manchester University of Manchester appointed as UN Academic Impact Vice-Chair for SDG10 research The University of Manchester has been appointed as the new United Nations Academic Impact Sustainable Development Goals Hub Vice-Chair for Research for SDG10 (Reduced inequalities) by the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) initiative.The University of Manchester will play an essential role in advancing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by leading research initiatives for the UNAI SDG10 Hub, from September 2025 to December 2027, as part of the larger UNAI network, which comprises over 1,700 universities and colleges across more than 150 countries. Professor Lucy Frith and Professor Elaine Dewhurst from the Manchester Law School, School of Social Sciences, will play a leading role in shaping and advancing the work of the UNAI SDG 10 Hub, contributing to global efforts to promote equality and reduce inequalities.Speaking of the appointment, Professor Colette Fagan, Vice-President for Research at The University of Manchester, shared:“This important appointment is in alignment with the University’s longstanding commitment to tackling inequalities and transforming lives. This is an exciting new chapter in our journey toward advancing collaborative research and real-world solutions that make a difference here in Manchester and across the globe.”Supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 10, Reduced inequalities, The University of Manchester already brings together over 650 academics across disciplines to address disparities in health, food security, living conditions, social justice and workplace equality, working side by side with communities to create lasting change locally and worldwide.“I am delighted The University of Manchester has been selected for this role and look forward to working with colleagues and partners to build on the University’s outstanding research and engagement," Colette added, "Together, we can drive forward practical, sustainable solutions that reduce inequalities and improve lives both locally and internationally.” UNAI SDG Hub Network UNAI SDG Hubs are designated institutions of higher education within the UNAI network that actively work to promote the SDGs by leveraging the power of academia to create positive social, economic, and environmental change. Each Hub is designated to focus on a specific SDG, fostering research, education, and global collaboration to advance that goal, while respecting the strong interdependencies across all 17 SDGs. For more information about the new UNAI SDG Hub cohort and their activities, please visit: UNAI SDG Hub Network | United Nations Humanities graduates lead the conversation on global inequalities The University of Manchester celebrated the graduation of thousands of humanities students from 11 to 18 July 2025. As they crossed the stage to receive their degrees, many did so not only in recognition of academic achievement but as a step forward in their journey as advocates for a more just, inclusive, and sustainable world.The ceremonies highlighted how many graduates see their studies as a foundation for action. This year’s cohort, particularly from disciplines such as politics, sociology, philosophy, history, and development studies, echoed the mission of the university’s global inequalities research beacon, a major initiative working to tackle injustices locally and globally.Graduates expressed their aspirations through messages inspired by the beacon’s Wishing Tree activity, which invited participants to write down one action that could help build a fairer society. Wishes included calls to stop racism and islamophobia, equality for all people, and making sure that all children have access to free school meals and proper academic support. One standout idea called for dedicated library sessions to support adult literacy, highlighting education as a tool for empowerment. Across the graduates’ messages, education emerged as a dominant theme, closely followed by concerns around humanitarian issues and the future of democracy.  The global inequalities research beacon, one of the university’s five flagship research areas, plays a vital role in addressing some of the world’s most pressing issues, from poverty and housing injustice to climate resilience and workplace equality. Its researchers work with communities, policymakers, and international partners to advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 10: Reduced inequalities.At the heart of the beacon’s work is collaboration, not only with experts, but also with the very people affected by inequality. This approach aligns closely with the values expressed by this year’s humanities graduates, many of whom have been directly involved in research projects, public engagement initiatives, or community-based placements.These ideas will continue to inform the beacon’s future research priorities. As part of its mission, the global inequalities team is committed to amplifying young people’s voices in shaping the policies and wellbeing systems that define the future. The people of Greater Manchester voice their thoughts on creating a Fairer World At the Universally Manchester Festival, people from all walks of life came together to prove that even the smallest action can spark change. From ambitious ideas to everyday kindness, the Wishing Tree stood as a testament to Greater Manchester’s commitment to a fairer future. Rethinking Sustainability: A Collective Call to Action at The University of Manchester The ‘Getting Serious About Sustainability: Research, Education and Advocacy’ symposium, held from 22–23 May 2025, was the first major event organised by the new working group Sustainability@SEED , led by Heather Alberro, Lecturer in Sustainability at the School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED).Over two engrossing and thought-provoking days, dozens of staff and students from across The University of Manchester community, alongside practitioners, artists, and activists from across the UK, came together for transdisciplinary discussions on the fundamental transformations needed to challenge systemic drivers of unsustainability and chart more liveable pathways forward.A key aim was to foreground perspectives and disciplines not typically centred in STEM-dominated sustainability discourses, namely the humanities, social sciences, and activist voices Key themes and topics included: the transformative role of hope and imaginaries; cultivating our ecological selves; working with and through climate anxiety; the relationship between war and ecological breakdown; collectively crafting new stories; generating value shifts and cultivating relations of ‘integrity over transaction’; opting for slow research and travel; how mosses might help us rethink the more-than-human ethical dimensions of sustainability; how to disrupt universities’ complicity in climate breakdown; and the need for a distributed ethics that cherishes individuals through collectives.As speaker Susan Brown (MIE) asked, “What if education were to beat not to the neoliberal economic clock, but to the earth’s clock?” How can we develop an intersectional, ecological approach to sustainability, that recognises extreme inequality, political polarisation, misogyny, systemic racism, transphobia, pollution, and biodiversity collapse as deeply entangled and indivisible crises? And how might we better engage actors beyond our immediate circles, ensuring we don’t merely preach to the converted?In service of keeping hope alive, these crucial conversations will continue in future events over the coming academic year. GDI climate justice experts awarded £1.3m to study land rights impact Researchers at the Global Development Institute (GDI) have been awarded c£1.3 million by the Ford Foundation to establish a research observatory studying the role land rights play in a just transition to a decarbonised future. UKRI award The University of Manchester £1.7m to investigate gendered energy inequalities The £1.7m award will fund an ambitious 5-year programme, led by Dr Saska Petrova, Professor in Human Geography at The University of Manchester. GENERATE aims to offer original insights into the social, spatial, and political inequalities that drive energy-related injustices, and the struggles linked to the growth of new low-carbon energy production in disadvantaged regions and communities. Supported by UK Research and Innovation via the Horizon Europe guarantee scheme, GENERATE is a European Research Council Consolidator grant, and will involve research across six countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) in Southeast Europe.  The project will undertake in-depth case studies involving range of rural and urban locations that have experienced rapid investment in renewable energy and housing retrofits. The knowledge gained from this region will be extended and applied globally, through a series of collaborations with practitioner and academic organisations in Asia, Africa, North America and Europe. Events Christabel Pankhurst Lecture 2026: PUSHing for Justice: Women, Power and the Unfinished Fight for Equality 29 April 2026, 4pm-6.30pm Join us for the Annual Christabel Pankhurst Lecture as our guest speaker, trailblazing legal leader and equality advocate Dr I. Stephanie Boyce CBE FKC. reflects on what it truly m.. SALIENT Lunch & Learn Webinar Series 2026 30 April - 26 November 2026, SALIENT Lunch and Learn Webinars are your chance to:? Discover the latest developments in the world of National security and resilience? Hear short TED-style talks by experts on.. All events Connect with us For business Leverage our expertise, facilities and network to develop solutions to your challenges. Gain access to some of the brightest minds working across our research pathways to help you make change happen. Contact our business team For policy work Connect with our researchers to build relationships, explore areas of interest and enhance your understanding of pressing policy challenges. 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