More than good intentions: Tackling ‘timeism’ and building real inclusion.
Dr Andri Georgiadou is an Associate Professor at Nottingham University Business School, Co-Director of the Nottingham Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the Research Hub, and Director of EDI for the Business School. Her research explores inclusion, the future of work, and how organisations move from good intentions to real, sustained change.
In this piece, Andri Georgiadou reflects on what inclusion truly means and highlights ‘timeism’ as one of the most overlooked barriers to achieving it.
Moving from reflection to action by Dr Andri Georgiadou:
Moments of awareness are important, but reflection without action is just performance. What really matters are the systems we build, the cultures we shape, and the everyday decisions that, over time, create meaningful, lasting change.
What inclusion looks like for students
For students, the environment shapes future possibilities. Who stands at the front of the room, who appears on the reading list, who leads - all of these subtle signals influence what students believe is possible for them. Shrink that picture, and you shrink their sense of potential before they've even had the chance to discover it. Widen it, and something shifts.
What inclusion looks like for staff
For staff, inclusion requires acknowledging that careers don’t develop in a vacuum. Who gets nudged to apply for promotion? Whose ideas get picked up in meetings? Who gets the credit? None of that is accidental.
My research on gender and informal networks shows how much influence happens in the places policy doesn't reach: relationships, visibility, who knows what and who knows who. Women are often excluded from these spaces, and it rarely shows up in an HR report.
For academic staff this might look like being left out of the conversations that shape agendas or career opportunities. For professional services colleagues, it can mean keeping everything running while equality conversations don't always reflect their experience.
What the research shows – understanding ‘timeism’
One concept I keep coming back to is what I call 'timeism' - the way organisations use time, often unintentionally, to exclude people. Expectations about when work should happen, how fast people respond, and what being productive looks like. All these unspoken rules don't work for everyone equally. Disabled colleagues, carers, and people managing health conditions feel these pressures most dramatically. It's rarely deliberate, but the impact runs deep.
And flexibility doesn't automatically solve the problem. My research on remote work shows a more complex picture. Working from home can be transformative, but it can also blur boundaries, intensify workloads, and leave people feeling isolated. What works for one person might not work for another, and that understanding must be the starting point, not an afterthought.
This year's International Women’s Day theme, #GiveToGain, was highly important. Investing in the people around us - sharing knowledge, opening doors, making space - isn't a sacrifice. It's actually just how things get better.
Recognising the people who show up
This year, Nottingham University Business School will be holding an International Women's Day Awards, created to celebrate women across the Business School whose contributions make a genuine difference. The award categories reflect what meaningful inclusion looks like: sharing knowledge, supporting and mentoring others, amplifying voices, and building a sense of belonging. These contributions often go unnoticed, and we want to change that.
Athena Swan Bronze Award
The Business School has recently been re-accredited with Athena Swan Bronze, extending our status until January 2031. It's a useful framework - it gives us structure, external benchmarking, and a reason to look hard at our data and ask uncomfortable questions. For students and staff, it signals the School takes these issues seriously: we're measuring, reporting, and being held to account.
Dr Andri Georgiadou, alongside colleagues Dr Isobel O'Neil, Janet Cooke, Andrew Johnstone, Professor Aditya Jain and Professor Andrew Smith, contributed to the data collection and analysis that informed the School's 2026 submission.
Of course, Athena Swan is one indicator among several. The real work is building a culture where everyone can thrive - and that goes beyond any single accreditation. Awareness matters. Accreditation matters. But neither of those things, on their own, changes who gets heard in a meeting or who gets nudged toward an opportunity. That's built slowly, through the everyday decisions we make about who we include and how. That's where good intentions either become something real, or don't.
Read more about Dr Andri Georgiadou’s research
Gender and informal networks:
Posted 19 March 2026