The Gender Lab has consulted on multiple projects and events to provide Gender Based Analysis plus (G.B.A.+), and other unique insights to our partners and affiliates. If you would like consulting services from the Gender Lab, or to collaborate on project with us, please email: CIDPResearch@queensu.ca with your request! 

Women, Peace, and Security Researchers in Canada

As of June 25, 2020, the principal investigator of this project, Bibi Imre-Millei, granted a total funding package of $5,000 (CAD) by the Canadian Defence Academy. The recipient’s objective, in accordance to the package, was to conduct a scan to identify the Canadian academics and not for profit organizations engaged in advancing understanding of the WPS Agenda and issues related to gender and security with a focus on documenting specific areas of research and expertise. Bibi and research assistant Maddy Godin worked on delivering a 20-30 page research paper which was submitted in September 2020.
The authors investigated the following questions: where are Canadian WPS expertise located physically? What are the key institutions, organizations, and centres which support WPS research and activism? Who are some of the individual key players in the field? What do mentorship and networking opportunities look like? To locate WPS experts and organizations in Canada, the authors searched the directory of every university in Canada and cross-referenced these findings with multiple other platforms to find academics working in the field.

Visit the Research Page

The Development of a Gender-Informed, Culturally Competent Mentorship Program for Women in the Canadian Armed Forces 

This project is part of Dr. Linna Tam-Setto's post-doctoral research at the Gender Lab. Dr. Tam-Seto’s research will be the development of a gender-informed, culturally competent mentorship program to support servicewomen within the Canadian Armed Forces. A culturally competent mentorship program is grounded in the assumption that mentors and mentees bring with them their collective identities and respective cultures which informs the roles, expectations, and nature of their mentorship relationship. In order for programs to be effective and successful in meeting organizational and individual needs of both mentees and mentors, specific considerations, such as these, are necessary in development and implementation. The project will use a variety of data collection methods to create a framework that will guide the development of a mentorship program which will include educational and resource materials for both mentors and mentees

MINDS TEG Grant 2020 - Women's Integration in the Military: Optimizing the CAF’s Career Cycle

This project’s objective is to perform a systematic examination of changing gender relations within the CAF by focusing on different phases of the military career cycle: recruitment, training, operations and military-to-civilian transitions. It proposes to assess policy initiatives that have been implemented in Canada to understand the conditions under which these are successful in recruiting, retaining and better integrating women in the military. Moreover, this project broadly examines successful strategies for recruitment of retention of all demographics in the CAF primary reserve, by engaging with reservists in Ontario.

View our interview questions here [PDF]

MINDS TEG Grant 2020 - Getting to 25% in the CAF: A Critical Analysis of Recruitment Efforts Targeting Women

This project examines CAF recruitment efforts through their recruitment activities national advertisement campaign and official communication issued by DND or senior CAF members about meeting the 25% target and why. The rationales offered in support of the target are of particular importance. Our research team investigates whether past and current public relations strategies are effective in the recruitment of women, and in positioning the CAF as an employer of choice for women. Recruitment activities were explored from three angles. Dr. Stéfanie von Hlatky and Dr. Laurence Ashworth conducted experiments using recruitment advertisements.

The second angle was explored by Dr. Tandy Thomas who analysed media discourses on gender and the CAF in Canadian newspapers between 2000 and 2020. Bob explored how to attract women to the CAF and encourage them to consider the CAF as a viable option.

Young MINDS TEG Grant 2020 - Applying an Intersectional Lens to Analysis of Sexual Misconduct in the CAF

Violence against Indigenous women is a Canada-wide issue that extends well beyond the confines of the military and this project aims to situate violence against Indigenous women in the CAF in this broader cultural context. The primary questions underpinning this research project are; what are the factors that explain higher instances of sexual violence against Indigenous service members? And, what would an effective, intersectional sexual violence policy look like in the context of the CAF? This project is led by Gender Lab RA, Anna McAlpine, and is also part of her undergraduate thesis work. 

The ERA Project

On June 11, 2015, the Government of Ontario awarded CIDP Director Dr. Stéfanie von Hlatky with an Early Researcher Award, consisting of a funding package of $140,000.00 over 5 years. This was the founding grant for the Gender Lab. 

The project focused on the large role that the Canadian Armed Forces play in Ontario, and why it is imperative to understand the interactions between the women and men who serve on Ontario military bases. It aimed to connect the different professional experiences of women and men while in the military to their professional experiences after the military, while taking into account the changing demographics of the Canadian veteran population. The project included ten focus groups with both female and male identifying veterans from across Ontario. Keep an eye on this page for project outputs. 

Beyond Classrooms

The Gender Lab has a sustained partnership with Beyond Classrooms, an organization which moves classroom experiences into community spaces. Since 2016, our team has worked with Beyond Classrooms to present primary and middle schoolers on women in the military throughout history and today. 

Veteran Service Provider Internship

The Veteran Service Provider Internship, supported by the Centre for International and Defence Policy and the Queen’s University International Affairs Association established a mutually beneficial program between veteran service providers across Canada and Queen’s University. This internship was funded as a way to strengthen the research skills of students, while supporting the essential services and programs provided to Canadian military veterans by service providers. The internships played a vital role in both the professional development of Queen’s University students as well as supporting the important mandate of veteran service providers across Canada.