Dr Elisabeth Griffiths

Associate Professor

Department: Northumbria Law School

Elisabeth obtained a BA (Hons) from Newcastle University in Government and European Community Studies before undertaking a CPE and LPC at the College of Law. Elisabeth was a trainee solicitor with Eversheds Sutherland LLP at their offices in Newcastle upon Tyne and qualified as a Solicitor in 1996 working in the Employment Department. Elisabeth joined Northumbria Law School as a Senior Lecturer specialising in employment law. In 2003 she returned to Eversheds and practised as a Professional Support Lawyer in the Employment and Human Resources team.

She returned to Northumbria University as a Senior Lecturer in 2005. In 2009 Elisabeth became a Principal Lecturer and Director of Employer Engagement for the Law School, delivering on an ambitious employer engagement and workforce development project under the auspices of the University’s SDF project. Elisabeth also secured the contract to train the staff at the newly formed Legal Ombudsman in Birmingham. She has also developed a Masters programme in Employment Law in Practice and a number of work-based learning programmes for the Law School.

In 2013 Elisabeth became Director of Placements for the Faculty of Business and Law delivering a successful long term plan for growth in placements for the Faculty.

In 2017, building on her research interests in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Elisabeth became the Academic Lead for Northumbria Law School’s Athena SWAN application.

Elisabeth is also studying for a Professional Doctorate in Law exploring equality and diversity issues within legal education, the legal profession and employers more widely. The focus of the research is specifically on students with disabilities and their future ‘possible selves’. The study takes a phenomenological approach to the lived experience of students with disabilities as they plan for their professional lives as lawyers. The study focuses on employability and inclusive education. Supervisors: Professor Chris Ashford and Professor Ron Beadle. Submission March 2020.

Campus Address

Room 309, City Campus East 1
Northumbria University

Email Elisabeth

Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Speaking in a Different Voice: The Gendered Nature of Promotion Applications, Griffiths, E., Hamilton, F. 6 Nov 2023, The Evolution of the Gender Pay Gap , London, Routledge
The Evolution of the Gender Pay Gap: A Comparative Perspective, Hamilton, F., Griffiths, E. 6 Nov 2023
The intractable nature of the gender pay gap-a comparative perspective: Conclusions and reflections, Griffiths, E. 6 Nov 2023, The Evolution of the Gender Pay Gap, London, Routledge
The Fairness Project: the role of legal educators as catalysts for change. Engaging in difficult dialogues on the impact of diversity barriers to entry and progression in the legal profession, McKee, T., Nir, R., Alexander, J., Griffiths, E., Dargue, P., Hervey, T. 3 Jul 2021, In: Law Teacher
“But you don’t look disabled” - Invisible disabilities, disclosure and being an ‘insider’ in disability research and ‘other’ in the disability movement and academia, Griffiths, E. 5 Oct 2020, Ableism in Academia: Theorising Experiences of Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses in Higher Education. , London, University College London
The Fairness Project: Doing what we can, where we are, Alexander, J., Griffiths, E., Mckee, T., Nir, R., Hervey, T. 1 Jun 2018, In: Journal of International and Comparative Law
Brown Shoes? Interrogating hidden inequality and diversity barriers in the graduate labour market, Griffiths, E., Grisedale, J., McKee, T., Nir, R. 7 Dec 2017, Society for Research into Higher Education
Is ‘reasonable accommodation’ the best way of achieving equality? Exploring the experiences of accommodating disability within a Higher Education setting with a particular focus on the employability of students., Griffiths, E. 30 Jun 2017, North-East Post Graduate Research Law Forum Conference
The Fairness Project: equipping students to maximise their employability through understanding and responding to inequality and unfair diversity, McKee, T., Nir, R., Griffiths, E., Grisedale, J., Hervey, T. 5 Jul 2017, HEA Annual Conference

Current and Recent Projects

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
SLSA PGR Conference, Graham, L. (Principal Investigator), Griffiths, E. (Co Investigator), Socio-Legal Studies Association, 01/07/23 - 30/06/24, £7,025.00

PGR Supervision

Nora Fagan Evaluating the effect of Government Policy on the Early Years Sector using Policy Tool Analysis Start Date: 29/01/2024
Ciara O'Gorman 'The right to privacy in the workplace – analysing the experiences of workers in Ireland under the current legal framework.' Start Date: 27/04/2023