Overview

With global academic expertise on women on corporate boards, Ruth’s research areas include women in leadership; board composition; role models; and various aspects of corporate governance. Her current work focuses on the responsiblization of diversifying boards and leadership teams and the incorporation of diversity in Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) measures.

In the past, Ruth was the lead researcher of the annual UK Female FTSE Report, monitoring women on listed boards and executive committees, from 2007-2016, including co-creating the “100 Women to Watch” list at Cranfield in 2009. She has co-authored similar reports in Hong Kong and India and presented report findings to academic and practitioner audiences, globally. Working closely with the Government Equalities Office and Business Innovation & Skills department, Ruth and her team provided the data for the Lord Davies Review into women on boards 2010-2015. Ruth was a member of the NHS Advisory Board, which was set an ambitious target of “50:50 by 2020” to help diversify all NHS hospital boards. She was also an invited member of the British Psychological Society Division of Occupational Psychology Board Effectiveness Group.

Prior to becoming an academic, Ruth was the Managing Director of a specialist holiday company, which she sold to a larger tour operator. She then worked for a number of years as a management psychology consultant, before starting a PhD at Cranfield School of Management in 2004, where she later became Deputy Director of the International Centre for Women Leaders. In 2013, Ruth moved City University of London to be Programme Director for MSc Organisational Psychology, and in 2016, joined University of Exeter Business School.

Nationality: British

Qualifications

BSc., MSc., PhD, Academic FCIPD, FBAM

Links

• Twitter profile
• LinkedIn profile

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Research

Research interests

• Women in leadership
• Board demographics, dynamics and governance
• Role models
• Meritocracy & legitimacy

My research spans three areas: The first stems directly from my PhD and focuses on individual level processes: work identity, role models and the impact of demography on gender, and career decisions. In addition, this includes work on intersectionality, privileged identities and identity imposition:  International Journal of Management Reviews (2010; 2017); Gender in Management (2010; 2013); Journal of Managerial Psychology (2014); Career Development International (2017); Gender Work & Organization (2016; 2020); plus five book chapters. 

The second area has a focus on public policy regarding women on boards and in leadership positions: governance, inclusion, regulation, leadership. This includes 25 women on boards reports (2007-2020), many of which were launched by major political figures (at No. 10 Downing Street; No. 11 Downing Street) or prominent corporate leaders (at KPMG HQ; at Barclays HQ). These reports have influenced policy of the UK government, the EU Commission, professional bodies and the NHS. In addition, this has led to white papers for International Alliance of Organizational Psychology - combined group of SIOP, EAWOP & the DOP- on women in power; and for the British Psychological Society’s Division of Organizational Psychology on board effectiveness. My papers in this area are included in journals Corporate Governance: International Review (2009 - one of highest cited articles in journal); Human Resource Management Journal (2016); Business Ethics Quarterly (2016); British Journal of Management (2017 – one of only 4 articles chosen for a Special Issue of Impactful Research); Organizational Dynamics (2018); plus six book chapters.

  The third area is less developed and includes further research into governance processes – e.g. major (250 page) literature review completed for the Financial Reporting Council 2020 underpinning their 5-year project on the Future of Corporate Reporting, including 'real effects'. A paper based on this is in a Special Issue on the Future of Corporate Reporting in Accounting in Europe (2021). The role of board evaluation and its function is very under-researched, with regulators’ and investors’ expectations at odds. There are research opportunities to consider wider stakeholders and meta-processes of change – e.g. collaborative work with QUEX colleague on the non-legislative change processes in both UK and Australia including the roles and legitimacy of various actors. Another developing area focuses on the responsiblization of diversifying boards and leadership teams and the incorporation of diversity in Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) measures. Additionally, I have a behavioural governance focus on boardroom dynamics, as well as the motivations and legitimacy of CEOs’ and Chairs’ decisions and processes to become sustainable and more equitable successful organisations. 

Research projects

Current funded research projects:

• Solicitors Regulatory Authority - looking at "attainment gaps" in professional qualifications for ethnic minorities
• NHS Boardroom Diversity: information on 3,000 board directors; Qualitative data from Chairs on how and why they diversify; women's career paths to under-represented board directorships 

Current Doctoral Research:

• Regulation, the trickle-down effect, disclosure, and board gender diversity (Aaron Page – Co-supervised with Professor Andrew Parker)
• The role of the board Chair and Nomination Committee in inclusive and effective boardrooms (Loretto Leavy - Co-supervised with Dr Greg Molecke)

Completed Doctoral Supervisions:

• Louise Tilbury - PhD 2016-23 (part-time): Behind the Numbers: Status as a Process Loss in Boards Beyond Critical Mass and the moderating role of Structure in Chairing style. Co-supervised with  Dr Emma Jeanes. No corrections.
• Victoria Opara - PhD 2017-22 (part-time): "The Workplace Experiences of African, Asian and Caribbean (AAC), British, Professional Women: Understanding Women’s Workplace Experiences and Well-Being Implications. Co-supervised with Professor Michelle Ryan
• Doyin Atewologun – PhD 2009-12: “An examination of senior Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic women and men’s identity work following episodes of identity salience at work”. No corrections.
• Patricia Pryce – PhD 2009-13: “The role of social capital in men and women’s promotion to Managing Director in an investment bank”

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Publications

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External Engagement and Impact

Awards and Honours

• Terjesen & Sealy (2015) “Questioning Quotas”, part of symposium Winner of Best International Symposium, Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada.
• Atewologun, D. & Sealy, R. (2011) “Advancing racio-ethnic and diversity theorising through intersectional identity work”, Best International Paper, Academy of Management Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
• Sealy, R. (2009) “How senior women experience gender-imbalanced work environments”, Best Paper British Academy of Management Conference, Brighton, UK.
• Sealy, R. & Singh, V. (2006) “Role models, work identity and senior women’s career progression: Why are role models important?”, Nominated for Best Paper Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

External positions

• Member of NHS Advisory Board  

She was academic advisor on the following:

• Newman, P. (2011) Releasing Potential: Women doctors and clinical leadership, Cambridge, UK: NHS Midlands & East
• Confederation of British Industry (2010), Room at the top: Improving gender diversity on UK corporate boards, CBI, London.
• Equality & Human Rights Commission (2009) Financial services enquiry: Sex discrimination and the gender pay gap, London UK.

Invited lectures

• Ruth is a regular keynote and panel speaker at practitioner events.

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Teaching

She also teaches on the interdisciplinary 3rd year module LAW3169 on Equality & Diversity

Modules

2023/24

• BEMM071 - Leadership and Global Challenges

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