Research

Dr Omotunde Dipo-Lawuyi , Founder of NanoHR. Whose Safety Counts? Pyschological Safety and Black Women in Academia in Scottish Universities.

Wednesday, 21 October 2026. 15:00 - 16:30 Room 6124, Adam Smith Business School Building

Abstract

Psychological safety has become a well-established construct in organisational research, yet much of this work assumes a universal experience that overlooks how race, gender, and institutional context intersect to shape who feels safe to speak, contribute, and belong. This seminar draws on doctoral research examining the experiences of Black women navigating academia, using their narrative accounts to interrogate what psychological safety looks like, and who it is designed for, within Scottish Universities. The talk will discuss key findings on voice, silence, and institutional culture, alongside methodological reflections on researching marginalised experience within organisations. It concludes with implications for how universities, and organisations more broadly, might rethink psychological safety as a genuinely inclusive practice rather than a one-size-fits-all framework.

Bio

Dr Tunde Dipo-Lawuyi (DBA, Chartered MCIPD) is the Founder of NanoHR, a strategic HR consultancy helping organisations navigate complexity with confidence, turning people challenges into competitive advantage. She is an HR Business Partner with extensive experience supporting global organisations through growth, transformation, and regulatory complexity across EMEA, APAC and AMER. She combines expertise in employee relations, organisational effectiveness, and workforce governance with a commercial focus on business outcomes. Her doctoral research examined psychological safety within Scottish universities, with a focus on the experiences of Black women in academia.

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For further information, please contact business-seminar-series@glasgow.ac.uk.

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First published: 1 October 2026