The next event of the series will take place on Wednesday 1 May, covering the following topics:

• Working identities: A new perspective on the future of work – Professor Eva Selenko, Loughborough Business School

Work is part of who we are – what happens to our sense of self if work becomes insecure, precarious or if it changes dramatically thanks to technology? Professor Selenko’s lecture will introduce the Working Identities Model which posits that having a clear, positive sense of self in relation to work is core to optimal functioning at work – and beyond. By knowing who we are in terms of work, we not only feel better about ourselves but can also perform more effectively, know which goals to pursue, and even become more tolerant citizens.

Drawing on extensive empirical evidence, her lecture will show that self-understanding does not happen in a vacuum – it is influenced by job insecurity, precarity and change which can threaten our sense of self. Thereby, not only leading to poor mental health but also impacting work performance and wider political thinking.

The Working Identities Model, therefore, presents a new bridge between working conditions on the one hand and individual wellbeing, thinking and behaviour on the other.

• Sex, gender and sex differences: How can we make the world a more inclusive and equal place? – Professor Surya Monro, School of Social Sciences and Humanities

Professor Monro’s lecture will address issues of diversity including sex, gender, sexual identity, bodily variations and postcoloniality.

She will begin by describing her early work about transgender, before moving through her research about LGBT issues, including collaborations with colleagues from the Global South. She will then discuss patterns of bisexual erasure revealed by her 'reading from the margins'. This will be followed by an overview of her international collaborative work about the issues facing intersex people and those with variations of sex characteristics.

Each of these areas is cross-cut by topical debates about identity, health, citizenship, feminism, intersectionality and postcoloniality. Surya will use the last part of her lecture to explore what role each of us plays in making the world a more inclusive and equal place. Epistemic justice is a pressing issue within academia – with important implications beyond the fields that Surya focuses on – and academic knowledge can be a force for good within the wider world.

All lectures begin at 5pm and take place in EHB110b, Edward Herbert Building, with registration from 4.30pm. For more information about the venue, including photographs, view the access guide for EHB on AccessAble.

The Professors will be available for questions and further discussion at a drinks reception after the lectures.

Register for the 1 May Inaugural Lecture event and read full details about the series.