Social Inequalities

Anya Ahmed is Professor of Wellbeing and Communities in the Department of Social Care and Social Work at Manchester Metropolitan University. A social scientist with over 25 years academic experience, she previously worked as a housing practitioner, trainer, and consultant. Her research focuses on the experiences of marginalised communities (with a specific focus on minoritized ethnic populations) and she has led a range of funded projects on housing and homelessness, migration, ageing and health and social care. Much of her work involves interrogation of the theoretical, conceptual, and applied nature of ‘community’ in national and international contexts. Anya is also a Non-Executive Director at Merseycare NHS FT, Chair of the Somali Adult Social Care Agency (SASCA) in Manchester; a member of the Customers and Communities Committee at Mosscare St Vincent’s Housing Association; and a Trustee for Knowledge for Change (K4C) a charity which organises ethical international student placements. Dr Deirdre Duffy (she/her) is a Reader in Critical Social Policy, Manchester Metropolitan University. She is an international expert on reproductive justice and reproductive governance, with a special interest in barriers and facilitators to abortion care. Her work has been used as an evidence-base to support expanding access to abortion in Colombia, the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland. In 2022, Deirdre was appointed as lead researcher on the Irish government’s review of health care providers’ perspectives and experiences of the recently-transformed abortion care system. Prior to this Deirdre was Co-Investigator and stream lead on the World Health Organisation Human Reproduction Programme’s ground-breaking implementation study of abortion care in the Republic of Ireland following the removal of the constitutional recognition of the ‘right to life of the unborn’. Deirdre has collaborated with non-governmental organisations, activists, and researchers globally and is passionate about feminist research practice.  Dr Lorna Chesterton is a Social Scientist and Researcher in the Department of Social Care and Social Work at Manchester Metropolitan University. Lorna’s work centres on social ageing and dementia with marginalised groups, exploring how people’s culture, ethnicity, beliefs and socio-economic situations impact upon their health and access to services. Her work has been grounded in a person-centred approach to research and care, valuing the contribution which individuals personal experience can make to research and future service provision. As an academic, she has been involved in research involving interprofessional learning, communities of practice and several research in care home initiatives.  Lorna’s background is in nursing, having worked for many years as a specialist practitioner in primary care and was honoured to receive the title of Queen’s Nurse in 2012. Her community involvement includes work with voluntary groups and serves as a Trustee for the Somali Adult Social Care Agency, based in Manchester.