![Richard Gater](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/5200?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Overview
I am a Research Associate at the Centre for Adult Social Care Research at Cardiff University and the author of several academic publications, including my book The 21st Century Lads: Continuity and Changes among Marginalised Young Men from the South Wales Valleys. My work focuses on masculinities, gender, education, employment, social class, and health and well-being.
My academic interests are shaped by my lived experience as a lifelong resident of a deprived former coal mining community in the South Wales Valleys. After leaving school with no GCSEs and working in manual labour jobs for several years, I returned to education at the age of 33. This journey continues to inform my commitment to socially engaged research and to improving outcomes for disadvantaged groups.
Publication
2026
- Gater, R. 2026. Men’s wellbeing groups are growing - and helping fill gaps in mental health support. [Online].The Conversation. (10.64628/AB.pykm7adja)Available at: https://doi.org/10.64628/ab.pykm7adja.
- Gater, R. et al. 2026. Self-organized men’s mental health and well-being groups—An emerging social development. American Journal of Men's Health 20 (2) 15579883261426876. (10.1177/15579883261426876)
- Gater, R. 2026. Continuity and change: the employment orientation of contemporary marginalised working-class young men. Work, Employment and Society 40 (1), pp.26-44. (10.1177/09500170251375724)
- Gater, R. 2026. Interrogating positive, healthy and progressive masculinities: conceptual frameworks and their limits for marginalized men. Journal of Gender Studies (10.1080/09589236.2026.2629861)
- Gater, R. et al. 2026. Grwpiau iechyd meddwl a lles dynion wedi’u hunandrefnu: datblygiad cymdeithasol sy’n dod i’r amlwg. Project Report.[Online].CARE. Available at: https://healthandcareresearchwales.org/about/events/self-organised-mens-mental-health-wellbeing-groups.
- Gater, R. et al. 2026. Self-organised men’s mental health and well-being groups: An emerging social development. Project Report.[Online].CARE. Available at: https://healthandcareresearchwales.org/about/events/self-organised-mens-mental-health-wellbeing-groups.
2025
- Gater, R. 2025. What work means to working-class young men in an age of increasing automation. [Online].The Conversation. (10.64628/AB.aysh33grp)Available at: https://doi.org/10.64628/ab.aysh33grp.
- Gater, R. 2025. The 21st century ladz. [Podcast]. ExChange Wales. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3QDyeaW4Zn7uOwh2U7zSvl.
- Gater, R. 2025. The 21st century ladz: continuity and changes among marginalised young men from the South Wales Valleys. Emerald Publishing Limited. (10.1108/9781837976317)
2024
- Gater, R. 2024. Amalgamated masculinities: The masculine identity of contemporary marginalised working-class young men. Sociology 58 (2), pp.312-329. (10.1177/00380385231172121)
2023
- Gater, R. 2023. Why ‘toxic masculinity’ isn’t a useful term for understanding all of the ways to be a man. [Online].The Conversation. (10.64628/AB.qcxr4pkyw)Available at: https://doi.org/10.64628/ab.qcxr4pkyw.
2022
- Gater, R. 2022. 'Dirty, dirty job. Not good for your health?: working-class men and their experiences and relationships with employment. In: Simmons, R. and Simpson, K. eds. Education, Work and Social Change in Britain’s Former Coalfield Communities. Palgrave Macmillan Cham. , pp.107-126. (10.1007/978-3-031-10792-4_6)
- Gater, R. 2022. The 21st Century Ladz: The school-to-work transition and masculine identity of marginalised working-class young men from the South Wales Valleys. PhD Thesis , Cardiff University.
Articles
- Gater, R. et al. 2026. Self-organized men’s mental health and well-being groups—An emerging social development. American Journal of Men's Health 20 (2) 15579883261426876. (10.1177/15579883261426876)
- Gater, R. 2026. Continuity and change: the employment orientation of contemporary marginalised working-class young men. Work, Employment and Society 40 (1), pp.26-44. (10.1177/09500170251375724)
- Gater, R. 2026. Interrogating positive, healthy and progressive masculinities: conceptual frameworks and their limits for marginalized men. Journal of Gender Studies (10.1080/09589236.2026.2629861)
- Gater, R. 2024. Amalgamated masculinities: The masculine identity of contemporary marginalised working-class young men. Sociology 58 (2), pp.312-329. (10.1177/00380385231172121)
Book sections
- Gater, R. 2022. 'Dirty, dirty job. Not good for your health?: working-class men and their experiences and relationships with employment. In: Simmons, R. and Simpson, K. eds. Education, Work and Social Change in Britain’s Former Coalfield Communities. Palgrave Macmillan Cham. , pp.107-126. (10.1007/978-3-031-10792-4_6)
Books
- Gater, R. 2025. The 21st century ladz: continuity and changes among marginalised young men from the South Wales Valleys. Emerald Publishing Limited. (10.1108/9781837976317)
Monographs
- Gater, R. et al. 2026. Grwpiau iechyd meddwl a lles dynion wedi’u hunandrefnu: datblygiad cymdeithasol sy’n dod i’r amlwg. Project Report.[Online].CARE. Available at: https://healthandcareresearchwales.org/about/events/self-organised-mens-mental-health-wellbeing-groups.
- Gater, R. et al. 2026. Self-organised men’s mental health and well-being groups: An emerging social development. Project Report.[Online].CARE. Available at: https://healthandcareresearchwales.org/about/events/self-organised-mens-mental-health-wellbeing-groups.
Thesis
- Gater, R. 2022. The 21st Century Ladz: The school-to-work transition and masculine identity of marginalised working-class young men from the South Wales Valleys. PhD Thesis , Cardiff University.
Videos
- Gater, R. 2025. The 21st century ladz. [Podcast]. ExChange Wales. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3QDyeaW4Zn7uOwh2U7zSvl.
Websites
- Gater, R. 2026. Men’s wellbeing groups are growing - and helping fill gaps in mental health support. [Online].The Conversation. (10.64628/AB.pykm7adja)Available at: https://doi.org/10.64628/ab.pykm7adja.
- Gater, R. 2025. What work means to working-class young men in an age of increasing automation. [Online].The Conversation. (10.64628/AB.aysh33grp)Available at: https://doi.org/10.64628/ab.aysh33grp.
- Gater, R. 2023. Why ‘toxic masculinity’ isn’t a useful term for understanding all of the ways to be a man. [Online].The Conversation. (10.64628/AB.qcxr4pkyw)Available at: https://doi.org/10.64628/ab.qcxr4pkyw.
Biography
I am a Research Associate at the Centre for Adult Social Care Research (CARE) at Cardiff University, with expertise in masculinities research and qualitative methods.
My PhD was an ethnographic study conducted in the South Wales Valleys in collaboration with a youth centre organisation. It explored the school-to-work transitions and masculine identities of a group of marginalised working-class young men aged 12–21, alongside interviews with youth workers and a schoolteacher.
Honours and awards
2017: School of Humanities and Social Sciences prize for: Best Undergraduate Dissertation by a Sociology Student, University of South Wales
Professional memberships
British Sociological Association
International Sociological Association
Academic positions
2023 - 2026: Research Assistant at the Centre for Adult Social Care Research
2022 - 2023: Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Cardiff University
Speaking engagements
Gater, R. (2025). The 21st century ladz. ExChange Wales.
Gater, R. (2024). Social Class in Contemporary Britain. Hay Festival. Hay-on-Wye, Wales.
Committees and reviewing
· Editorial Board Member for Work, Employment and Society
· Journal reviewer, Health & Place
· Journal reviewer, Journal of Youth Studies
· Journal reviewer, Men and Masculinities
· Journal reviewer, Sociological Review
· Journal reviewer, Health Promotion International
News articles
Contact Details
Research themes
Specialisms
- Studies of men and masculinities
- Gender, health and well-being
- Gender, sexuality and education
