MRSpride Stars: Jane Rowe
28 February 2022

Jane Rowe (she/ her) is an Associate Director in MRSpride’s Principal Sponsor YouGov’s Public Sector and Not-for-Profit team, as well as being coordinator of YouGov’s Diversity in Research and LGBTQ+&Allies network groups. Having started on YouGov’s inaugural Graduate Scheme back in 2014, she spent time with the panel experience team and years in the omnibus team, before transitioning to specialise in public sector work. She has a particular focus on surveying marginalised groups and ensuring research approaches are accessible. Jane is a member of the MRSpride steering group.

I wish someone had told me at the beginning of my career that market researchers are a bunch of nerds. Who knew that colour-coding spreadsheets is actually cool?

I most admire people who stand their ground for what is right. Going beyond lip service and still doing the right thing when it’s not pretty, easy, or fun.

A future-fit research world is holistic. If we want to understand people’s attitudes and behaviour, we have to recognise them as whole human beings. We can’t engage with people as singular datapoints – everything about their lives will inform who they are and how they feel.

My resilience tip for when times get tough is to step away. It’s easy for negative thoughts to spiral when it feels like everything is going wrong. Spending time on an easily achievable task (look at puppies, go for a walk, sort your pens by colour!) can help break that cycle.

The most amazing or memorable experience I’ve had whilst working in research was being invited to Pride in London’s launch event at City Hall after running research for them. I went solo but discovered that I had mutual friends in common with other people there. At the end of the night, we dismantled the decorations (with permission!) and I took home a balloon so big it barely fit through my front door.

A research project I wish I had worked on is the MRSpride x CORe intersectional research. Sabrina and Tatenda’s presentation at the last MRSpride event was so thoughtfully put together and such valuable insight. I know a lot of work went into it and the whole team deserves huge congrats!

To me, great leadership looks like listening. No one gets it right all of the time, but we can listen to people, recognise when change is needed and work to be better tomorrow.

The main challenge in building a more inclusive world is overcoming inertia. The status quo is easy and change is hard! People might empathise and understand the need for greater inclusion, but there needs to be a critical mass of people working for change before the scales tip.

If I wasn’t doing this, I would be a vet. In my late teens, I even went on week-long summer school experiences where they show you the gory details to make sure you’ve the stomach for it…