Ishbel McWha-Hermann

I am the Deputy Director Academic, MBA Programmes. In this role I am responsible for academic leadership across our three MBA Programmes (Full-Time, Executive and Online).

I am Founder and Director of Project Fair, which brings together HR and reward managers from INGOs, to develop research based pathways to fairer reward policies and practices: https://project-fair.business-school.ed.ac.uk/

I study social justice and decent work, particularly for marginalised workers, and in international work contexts. I currently lead two research projects: Project Fair examines fair reward and diversity/equality/inclusion in international aid and development contexts. The other focuses on the psychological impact of living wages and decent work for workers, their families, organisations and society. I have provided expert advice to numerous international organisations, including the United Nations, on creating fair reward policies and practices. Working internationally, I have advocated for the role of work and organisational psychology in addressing global grand challenges, such as poverty reduction, through contributing to the United Nations’ Agenda for Sustainable Development. I lead the decent work strand of the EAWOP Impact Incubator, am a SIOP representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and sat on the British Psychological Society’s Expert Reference Group on “poverty to flourishing.” 

I am a BPS Chartered Psychologist, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and Academic Associate of CIPD.

My research interests centre on the fairness perceptions of HR policies and practices in international work contexts, particularly international aid and development organisations. To study this I use draw on theories of organisational justice, humanitarian work psychology, workplace diversity and decent work.

I am particularly interested in working with students on the following topics:

• characteristics of actors within the international aid and development sector, including relationships between volunteers, expatriates and host country national staff
• fairness and reward in international work contexts, particularly using social comparison theory
• diversity/equality/inclusion in the workplace
• decent work and living wages

Ishbel discusses the founding of Project Fair, an organisation aiming to address pay disparities in international NGOs and promoting fair pay practices to improve worker satisfaction and motivation.