Karise McNamee

Proposed Title

The Australian workplace support experiences of women with ADHD: A mixed-methods study through a critical social work lens

Supervisors

Principal Supervisor: Professor Belinda Cash
Co-Supervisor: Dr Bernadette Moorhead

Research

This research examines the workplace support experiences of Australian women diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood. ADHD has historically been researched and diagnosed through the lens of male childhood presentation, meaning many women are now reaching diagnosis well into adulthood, after progressing through education and into the workforce without the knowledge and supports an earlier diagnosis might have provided. No existing study has examined what these women know, access, need, and are denied in relation to Australian workplace supports, or the systemic, organisational, and individual factors that shape that access.

Grounded in critical social work theory and feminist standpoint epistemology, the study employs a two-phase mixed-methods design comprising a scoping review mapping the international evidence on workplace supports for adults with ADHD, followed by a national survey of approximately 300 Australian women with ADHD, examining how age at diagnosis shapes their workplace support experiences. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and accessible knowledge translation reaching women with ADHD and the systems around them.

Why I chose Charles Sturt

I completed my Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) at Charles Sturt in 2017, and it was my Honours supervisor who set this whole journey in motion. She gave me such a positive and supportive experience as a student, and she spent the next eight years gently encouraging me to come back and do my PhD. She is now my Principal Supervisor, so in many ways this project has been years in the making.

I've also been a sessional academic at Charles Sturt for the past five to six years, which means I have felt a part of the Charles Sturt community long before I started my PhD. Coming back to do my PhD here felt less like a decision and more like the natural next step. Charles Sturt has a special place in my heart, and the distance education structure suits how I work and live. It's supportive and well set up for candidates balancing research with practice, teaching, and everything else life brings.

Publications

ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4045-6517

Current candidate profiles