Professor Etlyn Kenny

Professor Etlyn Kenny

Department of Management
Professor of Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour

Contact details

Telephone
+44 (0)121 414 6219
Email
e.j.kenny@bham.ac.uk
View my research portal
Address
Birmingham Business School
University House
Birmingham
B15 2TY

Etlyn is a Professor in the Department of Management and is a member of the Organisations, Work and Employment Group.  Etlyn's research interests are in the field of employee diversity and organisational careers. Her research and publications focus both on how employees experience organisations as minorities as well as the analysis of organisational practices and structures designed to facilitate equal access to career opportunities and progression.

Etlyn teaches on the MSc HRM and on the Executive MBA programme.  Etlyn supervises a number of PhD students.

Qualifications

  • BSc (Hons) Human Psychology, Aston University, Birmingham
  • MSc Occupational Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London
  • PhD Organizational Psychology, Birkbeck, University of London

Teaching

  • Human Resource Development -  MSc Human Resource Management
  • Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management – Executive MBA
  • Dissertation Supervision – MSc Human Resource Management

Postgraduate supervision

  • Radost Dineva (PT)
  • Annalise Galea (FT)
  • Nazia Saeed (FT)
  • Danni Dorn (PT)
  • Marcelle Wright (PT)

Past PhD students

  • Dr Giulia Guinti (FT)

Research

Professor Kenny’s research focuses on how careers are influenced by demographic categories.  Her current work focuses on:

  • Minority ethnicity and career-related experiences
  • Women and careers in technology and other male-dominated professions
  • Social class and entry to elite careers

Etlyn has conducted research with employees from a wide range of organisations including the military, civil service, technology industry, investment banks, and the media. Etlyn’s research is funded by a range of funders including the ESRC, British Academy and the UK Government.  Etlyn is currently the PI for an ESRC-funded project on how minority ethnic doctors transition through the stages of a medical career.

Other activities

Professional Qualifications

  • Chartered Psychologist, Division of Occupational Psychology, British Psychological Society
  • Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Professional Memberships

  • Member of British Academy of Management
  • Member of European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology
  • Member of the American Academy of Management

External Examining Roles

External Examiner at the University of Liverpool and at Swansea University

Publications

Journal articles

Fernando, D. & Kenny, E. J. (2023) The identity impact of witnessing selective incivility: a study of minority ethnic professionals. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 96 (1) 56-80.

Fernando, D. & Kenny, E. J. (2021) Negotiating a sense of fit in elite higher education: Exploring the identity work of widening participation Students. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 20 (2) 133-155. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2019.0358

Kenny, E. J. & Donnelly, R. (2020) Navigating the gender structure in IT: How does this affect the experiences and behaviours of women in tech?  Human Relations, 73 (3) 326-350.

Fernando, W .D .A. & Kenny, E. J. (2018) Navigating panethnic categorization in the workplace: A study of British Sri Lankan employees. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 91 (4) 769-797.

Kenny, E. J. & Briner, R. B. (2014) Stereotype threat and minority ethnic employees: What should our research priorities be?  Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 7 (3) 425-429.

Kenny, E. J. & Briner, R.B. (2013) Increases in salience of ethnic identity at work: the roles of ethnic assignation and ethnic identification. Human Relations, 66 (5), 725-748.

Kenny, E. J. & Briner, R. B. (2010). Exploring ethnicity in organizations. Equality, Diversity, Inclusion: An International Journal, 29, (4), 348-363.

Kenny, E.J. & Briner, R.B. (2007) Ethnicity and behaviour in organizations: A review of British research. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 80, (3), 437-457.

Book chapters

Kenny, E. J. (2017) Minority ethnic employees experiences in the workplace. In Cornish T. & Calvard T. (Eds). The Psychology of Ethnicity in Organizations.  London: Palgrave. 

Reports

Moore, J., Higham, L., Moutford-Zimdars, A., Ashley, L., Birkett, H., Duberley, J.  & Kenny, E. J. (2016) Socio-economic diversity in life sciences and investment banking.  Social Mobility Commission, London.

Conferences

Kenny, E. J. & Donnelly, R. (2020) The tech sector in the UK: On a road to greater inequality? CIPD Applied Research Conference, Dublin, January 2020.

Kenny, E. J. & Donnelly, R. (2019) Gender balancing tech work through HRM. Gender and HRM: Advances, Challenges and Future Directions, British Academy of Management Special Interest Group Workshop, Manchester, June 2019.

Kenny, E. J.& Donnelly, R. (2018) Navigating the gender structure in IT: Examining women's experiences and behaviors.  American Academy of Management Conference, Best Paper Proceedings, Gender, Diversity and Organisation Stream, Chicago, USA, August 2018.

Kenny, E. J. & Donnelly, R. (2018) ‘Women can’t code’: Female IT Professionals Navigating Assumptions, Bias and Identity, Accepted at the British Psychological Association Division of Occupational Psychology Conference, Stratford-upon-Avon, January 2018.

Kenny, E. J. & Donnelly, R. (2017) Women in IT: Navigating gender salience in an increasingly male dominated industry. British Academy of Management Conference, Coventry, September 2017.

Kenny, E. J. (2014) Increasing ‘safety’, minimising identity threat, de-stigmatising salience: Towards making organizations fit for a diverse workforce. International Congress on Applied Psychology, Paris, July 2014.

Kenny, E. J. & Briner, R. B. (2013). Understanding increases in the salience of minority ethnic identity at work. 16th European Congress on Work and Organizational Psychology, Muenster, Germany, May 2013.

Kenny, E.J. & Briner, R. B. (2008). A study of ethnicity in organizations. Proceedings of the Equal Opportunities International Conference, Norwich, July 2008.

Kenny, E.J. & Briner, R. B. (2006). Experiencing ethnicity at work: A study of black British professionals. Proceedings of the British Psychological Society Division of Occupational Psychology Conference, Glasgow, January 2006, 44-46.

Kenny, E.J. & Briner, R. B. (2005). Experiences and identities: Ethnicity in organizations. European Group of Organizational Studies conference, Berlin, July 2005.

Kenny, E.J. & Briner, R. B. (2004). Ethnicity in organizations: The contribution of UK organizational psychology. Proceedings of the British Psychological Society Division of Occupational Psychology Conference, Stratford-upon-Avon, January 2004, pp 87-90.

Kenny, E.J. & Briner, R. B. (2003). Entry into graduate careers: The role of ethnicity and social class in career decision-making. 11th European Congress on Work and Organizational Psychology, Lisbon, Portugal May 2003.

Blogs

Kenny, E. J. (2022) Increasing the representation of minority ethnic women in management and leadership. Birmingham Business School Blog. March 2022. 

Kenny, E. J. & Donnelly, R. (2020) Women in Tech Work: Navigating the Gender Structure.  American Sociological Association Work in Progress, April 23 2020.

View all publications in research portal

Expertise

Dr Kenny’s work has provided her with useful insight into the role of ethnicity, social class and gender in the workplace.  Her research focuses on how employees experience organisations as minorities and analyses organisational practices designed to create more equal access to career opportunities and progression.

Dr Kenny has conducted work with employees from a wide range of public and private sector organisations including those in banking and IT, the military and the civil service.

Read Etlyn’s blog on representation in management

Areas of expertise

  • Career experiences of minority ethnic employees
  • Women and careers in technology and other male-dominated professions
  • Social class and entry to elite careers