Researcher Profile - Lee Gregory
Lee Gregory
Welfare support for LGBTQ+ people and young people
Lee Gregory is an Associate Professor in the School of Sociology and Social Policy.
To paraphrase a famous sociologist, don’t just study the world to understand it, change it. Sociology is a great way for developing analytical tools for understanding a whole range of social situations and social problems.
How would you explain your research?
My research can be summed up as investigating how we make people’s lives better. I have a long standing interest in issues of poverty and inequality and what governments do, or don’t do, to address those challenges. This has led to quite a broad interest across social policy, as issues of poverty and inequality underpin so many social problems. But specifically I am returning to one policy interest and developing a new one.
My undergraduate dissertation and a few of my first academic publications focused on a form of intervention called asset-based welfare, specifically a policy called the Child Trust Fund. As a part of broader policy initiatives to improve the lives of young people I am starting to return to work in this area as 18 year olds will now start to access these funds and I am curious as to what is happening in their lives as a result of the policy.
Alongside this I have started to develop work in relation to LGBTQ+ people and their interaction with the welfare state. Primarily this is through a project exploring experiences of claiming social security by LGBTQ+ people. But this has also involved some theoretical work drawing on queer theory to challenge how welfare provision often renders LGBTQ+ people invisible with an implicit bias to heterosexuals. This is often the result of longer, historic processes which we can clearly see are still being played out in political and media debates today.
What inspired you to pursue this area
A large part of it is down to life experience. Growing up in a family which, using some contemporary labelling, would be classed as “just about managing” and experiencing life where money was tight. This wasn’t the consequence of a lack of hard work or effort but symptomatic of a wider context, which my initial studies in sociology then gave me the tools to understand. Similarly as a gay man who had come through schooling during section 28, experienced friends no longer talking to me after coming out and other random homophobic incidents I’m increasingly focused on the role of policy on influencing the lives of LGBTQ+ people. Our existence and rights have been some of the most debated and questioned across the media, courts and wider social life.
How will your research affect the average person?
As a social policy academic my main interest is not only conducting research to understand social problems, but to also explore and develop the solutions to those problems. Consequently my research seeks to intervene in policy making processes and debates in a number of ways.
For example one of my recent projects has examined the social needs of residents within Sutton Coldfield, a town to the north of Birmingham. As a result of the analysis the local charitable trust developed a 5 year action plan of investment in a range of anti-poverty, housing and community engagement activities. Similarly my research into LGBTQ+ people’s experiences of claiming social security will hopefully influence policy development and implementation within the Department of Work and Pensions and across devolved governments who have control over the administration of social security provision.
How does your research influence your teaching?
My research is influential in teaching in a number of ways. First it can be the basis of modules I have delivered, such as modules on Poverty, Class and Inequality where students have been introduced to key theoretical debates but illustrates how we use that knowledge to conduct research and inform public debate. Second, research can be used to illustrate wider debates – so when talking to students about policy transfer and policy learning, the theory can be illustrated with my research into Child Trust Funds. It shows that the people teaching you aren’t just regurgitating information but are actually developing new knowledge and insights based on the theories and ideas they are teaching you. Finally, demonstrating my research interests is a way of demonstrating to students how they can explore their own interests through their assessments, their dissertations, even into further study or employment.
What's been the greatest moment of your career so far?
It is difficult to say, potentially becoming the co-author of Social Policy in Britain with Pete Alcock. I read the first edition of that book when I was 16 and trying to work out what I wanted to study at university.
What's the biggest challenge in your field?
In debates about social problems people have a range of pre-held subjective views resulting from exposure to media, political debate, family debate etc, whilst growing up. So trying to engage people with evidence which challenges these views can be difficult.
This is an even bigger challenge, when, as we are seeing in the UK (and beyond) a wider debate which often suggests that LGBTQ+ people “don’t exist”. Today this is often mixed into claims about “culture wars” and “wars on wokeism”, so it can be difficult to not only conduct research with this group of people but also a challenge to promote the findings. When people think certain groups of people, such as trans people, “don’t exist”, they don’t want to engage with research which not only says otherwise, but highlights the disadvantages and discrimination experienced by this group. It is the image of the “other” which is portrayed in various ways across poverty research, research into LGBTQ+ people and a number of other social groups.
What advice would you give to someone considering an undergraduate degree in sociology?
To paraphrase a famous sociologist, don’t just study the world to understand it, change it. Sociology is a great way for developing analytical tools for understanding a whole range of social situations and social problems. So you need to find the issues that will make you passionate to study and to take that learning beyond the university. And read. Read as much as you can. Read stuff you disagree with to understand the challenges and critiques of the stuff you do agree with. To paraphrase a famous drag queen, reading is fundamental.