My Background
I hold a master’s degree in research methods and a PhD in gender equality and social policy. My work brings together academic rigour and practical experience, using qualitative and quantitative methods to generate insight that organisations can act on.
Alongside my consultancy and research practice, I am an Independent Board member at UHI Moray, LSHTM Research Ethics Committee lay member and a trustee of Inverness Tool Library. Outside work, I am a mum of three and a gardener of vegetables.
My Research
My research explores how policy, culture, and lived experience shape people’s choices and opportunities. It focuses particularly on gender equality, parental leave, organisational cultures, and the conditions that support fairer working lives.
My work has included a sector-wide review of maternity, paternity/partner, and shared parental leave policies across UK higher education – the findings of which were shared through networks including the Fatherhood Institute, UK PACT, WHEN, and Working Families, where I serve on the academic advisory board.
I have also researched the impact of COVID-19 on professional services staff, academic promotions, and care decision-making.
Other projects have examined digital accessibility in creative arts education and how workplace policy can support employees navigating reproductive health unpredictability.
I am currently a Research Fellow on the Scottish Tertiary Enhancement Programme Staff Development Project, where I am Delivery Lead for the development, delivery, and reporting of the ‘Understanding the staff development landscape required to support diverse learner journeys in the tertiary sector’ project.
Publications
Matysova, C. (2025) ‘The possibilities and pitfalls of adapting the Capability Approach to explore how gender norms are constitutive of parents’ care capabilities’, Gender and Justice, 1(1), pp. 53–77. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1332/30333660Y2024D000000005.
Matysova, C. (2024) ‘Exploring (in)congruence between academic employers and academic parents’ aspirations for, and enactment of, gender justice in relation to family leave’, SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO, (168), pp. 71–87. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3280/SL2024-168004.
Matysova, C. (2024) ‘“I Don’t Have a Lot of Choice … My Boss He Still Likes to Go to the Office Everyday Pretty Much” – Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Parents’ Decision-Making When Planning Care During Their Child’s First Year’, in T. Disney and L. Grimshaw (eds) Care and Coronavirus, Perspectives on Childhood, Youth and Family. UK: Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 121–135. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83797-310-120241009
Matysova, C. (2024) Shared parental leave (SPL) – a catalyst for progressing gender justice or a reinforcement of the status quo? Exploring the disjuncture between parents’ increased aspiration to share care and limited uptake of SPL in the UK. University of Leeds. Available at: https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/id/eprint/35503/
Blogs and Podcasts
Matysova, C (2025) “Why do you want to do a PhD? You are not an academic.”, The Hidden Curriculum in Doctoral Research blog series. Available: https://drhiddencurriculum.wordpress.com/2025/05/13/why-do-you-want-to-do-a-phd-you-are-not-an-academic/
Matysova, C. (2023) ‘Family leave is a gender equity issue’, available: https://wonkhe.com/blogs/family-leave-is-a-gender-equity-issue/
Matysova, C. and Humphreys, E. (2023) ‘The inequities within parental leave’, International Women’s Day 2023 [podcast], available: https://business.leeds.ac.uk/research-ceric/dir-record/research-blog/2091/podcast-the-inequities-within-parental-leave
Matysova, C. (2022) ‘Time to ‘share the joy’? How UK women really feel about childrearing narratives and parental leave policies’, available: https://thesociologicalreview.org/magazine/november-2022/social-reproduction/time-to-share-the-joy/
Reports
Grenfell, P., Matysova, C. and Marston, C. (2024) Academic careers, promotions, and equity at LSHTM: impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Final Study Report.: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Vasic, I., Bullock, S., Matysova, C., Vasileiou, I., de Sousa e Faro, A., Townend, J., Tsao, E., Porth, E., MacKinlay, A., (2021) Sharing the Caring – UK Higher Education Professional Services parents, work and family life during 2020 lockdown: WHEN – Women in Higher Education Network, available: https://s3.amazonaws.com/kajabi-storefronts-production/sites/45828/themes/2439331/downloads/vdBOifYHSSmJEzZMBiHA_Sharing_the_Caring.pdf
Matysova insights 