Departmental news

A new study of young participants in a large-scale training programme in India designed to tackle rural unemployment has found that the intersection of two social identities – caste and gender – strongly influences young people’s aspirations and salary expectations. The study was carried out in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand in India.

Aspiration – the desire and drive to achieve a goal – is recognised as influencing an individual’s occupational choices, educational success, and other life outcomes, but it is difficult to measure reliably.

To explore the influence of social identities – those rooted in a person’s community and background – on career expectations and long-term goals, Dr Bhaskar Chakravorty, Dr Sudipa Sarkar, and Dr Clare Lyonette surveyed just under 1,800 participants in the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushal Vikas Yojana (DDU-GKY) skill training programme.

DDU-GKY is part of India’s National Rural Livelihood Mission and works with young people from low-income households in several states of India to improve their employment prospects. The programme focuses particularly on young people from disadvantaged castes and girls.

India’s caste system has deep historical roots and has a strong influence on access to opportunity. The government uses four classifications: Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and Other Castes (OC). Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are regarded as the most disadvantaged.

The researchers designed a survey to capture factual information from participants, such as age, gender, education and household income. The questions also covered the “Big 5” personality traits and soft skills associated with labour market success. Finally, the survey asked about earnings before the course, anticipated earnings after the training was completed, and what level of income trainees would like to have. These final questions served as proxies for expectations and aspirations.

The study found that trainees from disadvantaged castes had lower levels of expectation and aspiration than those from the OBC and OC castes: a 23 per cent gap in expectations between trainees from the SC/ST group and those from OC, and a 22 per cent gap in aspirations.

Female trainees had 11 per cent lower expectations and 14 per cent lower aspirations than their male peers, averaged across all caste groups.

However, the most significant gap was seen when an intersectional approach was taken to the analysis.

Women from disadvantaged castes suffered “double jeopardy” and had the lowest levels of expectations and aspirations across all participants – 27 per cent and 30 per cent lower respectively.

The authors said:

“Investigating the link between social group identity and labour market aspirations in a developing country allows us to better understand the roots of social and economic inequality.

“It is clear that action plans to reduce inequality need to take social identities like caste and gender into account, alongside affirmative actions based around income or social class, if we are to see equality of aspiration and a more equal society.”

• Sarkar, S., Chakravorty, B., & Lyonette, C. (2025). Caste, gender and intersectionality in labour market aspirations: evidence from a skill-training programme in India. Oxford Development Studies, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/13600818.2025.2570943

This week we are delighted to interview Professor Jonathan Garton, Director of Academic Practice, for our Warwick Law School Staff Spotlight series.

The University was celebrating it's 60th Anniversary at the weekend. The Department of Computer Science showcased a range of projects and hosted alumni from 1978 - 2025.

Did you know that Warwick’s Department of Sociology hosts a world-renowned research centre which organises talks, film screenings and research initiatives focusing on gender and feminism? It is called the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender, and it is a supportive, trans-inclusive meeting place for students (both UG and PG) and staff at Warwick (and beyond) interested in these topics.

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The National Xray Computed Tomography facility (NXCT)Link opens in a new window, the UK’s national research hub for lab-based Xray CT imaging, has been awarded a five- year grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick, has been a key part of the NXCT since 2020. This new funding will strengthen the facility’s leading role in 3D and 4D imaging, giving researchers across the country better access.

Hosted at Manchester’s Henry Royce Institute, the facility provides cutting-edge imaging, data analysis and scientific support for a broad spectrum of users, uniting world-class CT expertise across the Universities of Warwick, Manchester, Southampton, UCL and Diamond Light Source.

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Hundreds of West Midlands-based manufacturing businesses are set to benefit from a new £15m programme, providing expert support and funding to help them capitalise on a new wave of economic opportunities, driven by the flagship West Midlands Investment Zone (WMIZ).

The Supply Chain Transition (SCT) programme will help SMEs strengthen supply chains, access R&D funding, and upskill their workforce for growth in sectors such as clean tech, electric vehicles, health tech, and digital manufacturing.

Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) has already begun delivering the programme, through its Developing Future Sustainable Manufacturing Leaders programme, which provides future manufacturing leaders with the confidence, skills and insights to lead their businesses towards sustainable success.

Sixty Years of Warwick ECLS - Agenda/TimingsLink opens in a new window

All are welcome to join us on this fantastic celebration of Sixty Years of English and Comparative Literary Studies

The safe and responsible deployment of generative AI for financial advice is being addressed by experts at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick after securing new UKFin+ funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The 12-month collaborative research project, led by WMG’s Dr Anita Khadka and Professor Carsten Maple, comes amid growing concern about AI-generated misinformation, hallucinated advice, and regulatory uncertainty in high-risk financial contexts that has the potential to mislead consumers, and disrupt markets.

Working with experts from Keele University and Coventry University, the Responsible AI Systems for Ethical Finance project will investigate how Large Language models, such as GPT-4, perform when applied to real-world financial contexts (e.g., investment advice, credit scoring and customer facing automation). It will explore how hallucination risks can be detected, managed, and governed.