Harriet Plows

Profile

Thesis supervisors

• Maddy Power
• John Hudson
• Ruth Patrick

Thesis Title

Navigating the Welfare State: The role of formal and informal advice for minoritised communities accessing social security

Biography

Biography

Harriet is an ESRC-funded doctoral researcher examining the role of advice and advisors in shaping access to social security. Her research explores how welfare advice can mitigate or reinforce structural inequalities, with a particular focus on minoritised communities.

She holds a BSc in Psychology and Anthropology from Durham University and after working with a sports inclusion charity, she completed an MSc in Gender, Policy and Inequalities at the London School of Economics. There she examined how political discourse (re)produces intersecting inequalities of gender, race, and class, and how these structural dynamics shape the uneven impacts of social policies - particularly within the UK social security system.

Harriet went on to work in the advice sector, with a role focused on community partnerships, where her experiences strengthened her interest in the transformative (and at times limited) potential of welfare advice. This professional background continues to inform her interdisciplinary and practice-informed approach to research.

Research

Research Topic

Exploring the role of Social Welfare Advice for minoritised communities navigating the Welfare State

Research interests

• Welfare State
• Gendered and Racialised Inequalities
• Poverty Stigma
• Role of the Voluntary Sector in Welfare Provision
• Welfare Rights Advice