Chilly Climate 2.0: Women’s Experiences of Harassment and Discrimination in Canadian Higher Education

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53967/cje-rce.5905

Keywords:

Gender, Discrimination, Harassment, Chilly Climate, Academia

Abstract

This research examines the extent to which issues identified in Breaking Anonymity (The Chilly Collective, 1995) are still salient despite new EDI mandates/programs which support increased research excellence through EDI principles. We present survey results for Canadian academics who identify as women (n = 244) regarding their experiences with gender-based harassment and discrimination. Our analysis identified three categories of patriarchal gendered control: (1) overt practices, (2) covert practices, and (3) a systematic effort to silence the reporting of these experiences. We highlight the voices of women academics as they provide personal insights into the continuing barriers through their experiences. Through their stories, the implications of existing overt and covert harassment and discrimination practices are discussed. Our study provides an overview of women academics’ experiences with oppression by their male colleagues and contributes to research exploring equity and inclusion in higher education and the continued need to work toward gender equity.

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Author Biographies

Janette Hughes, Ontario Tech University

Janette Hughes is a Canada Research Chair, in Technology and Pedagogy and Professor in the Faculty of Education at Ontario Tech University. She is the recipient of multiple research and teaching awards and research grants. She is widely published and is author of four books, including Makers, Making and Makerspaces. Dr. Hughes is a prolific author and presenter, sharing her work both nationally and internationally in prestigious scholarly and professional journals, keynote talks, and conferences. She has presented more than 125 peer-reviewed research papers conferences across Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America. Attesting to the recognition of her leadership in technology and pedagogy, Dr. Hughes is routinely contacted by school districts, Ministry personnel and industry partners to consult on a variety of topics, including equity issues in ed tech and women in STEM. For more information, visit her research website at: https://janettehughes.ca/lab/.

Hannah Scott, Ontario Tech University

Hannah Scott is a Full Professor and Founding Member of Ontario Tech University (OTU; formerly UOIT) in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, in the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Alberta, Canada, and her specializations include victimology, workplace bullying, evaluation, statistics, and homicide studies. She has worked in the United States and Canada on several inter-agency initiatives. She was the founding Director of the Centre for Evaluation and Survey Research (CESR) at UOIT. She has also served as President of her Faculty Association and Grievance Officer. Her current interests lie in the areas of workplace victimization, homicide studies, evaluation, and victimization patterns in public vs. private spaces. For more information please visit her profile page at https://socialscienceandhumanities.ontariotechu.ca/research/researcher-profiles/dr.-hannah-scott.php. For more information on the workplace bully project please visit: https://socialscienceandhumanities.ontariotechu.ca/workplacebullying/power-control-wheel.php

Laura Jane Morrison, University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Laura Morrison is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Ontario Tech University. She completed her Ed.D. at the University of Calgary with a focus on promising practices associated with online pre-service teacher education. Over the past 11 years, Laura has published/co-published prolifically, including 20 scholarly articles, 14 book chapters and 13 conference proceedings, and she has presented research at over 35 national and international conferences. Laura's areas of expertise include online teaching and learning, critical digital literacies and making for education.

Donna Kotsopoulos, Western University

Donna Kotsopoulos is the Dean and a professor at the Faculty of Education, Western University, London, Canada. She is cross appointed to the DAN Department of Management & Organizational Studies, Faculty of Social Science. She is the President of Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada. She is an Ontario Certified Teacher.  Her research explores mathematics learning across the lifespan as well as postsecondary education – particularly strategic resource allocation, leadership, and university governance. Her service, research, and teaching have been recognized with several awards, including the John and Gail MacNaughton Prize for Excellence in Teaching (2020), an OCUFA teaching award (2014), the Fields Institute Fellow (2017) through the esteemed Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences.

Robyn Ruttenberg-Rozen, Ontario Tech University

Robyn Ruttenberg-Rozen is an Assistant Professor of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education at Ontario Tech University. Her interdisciplinary research explores the tensions and possibilities of belonging and inclusion in STEAM learning environments for typically underserved, linguistically and culturally diverse, and exceptional populations of learners. Dr. Ruttenberg-Rozen has been recognized for her teaching and research, including early career teaching awards, as a scholar in residence, and multiple research grants. Currently, Dr. Ruttenberg-Rozen is leading a team of international and transdisciplinary researchers exploring how agentic strategies can be nurtured to support belonging for historically marginalized women in undergraduate STEM programs. More information about this project and others can be found on her Ideass Lab website: https://www.exploringideas.net

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Published

2023-06-27

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Hughes, J., Scott, H., Morrison, L. J., Kotsopoulos, D., & Ruttenberg-Rozen, R. (2023). Chilly Climate 2.0: Women’s Experiences of Harassment and Discrimination in Canadian Higher Education. Canadian Journal of Education Revue Canadienne De l’éducation, 46(2), 472–501. https://doi.org/10.53967/cje-rce.5905

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Vol. 46 No. 2 (2023): Summer 2023 | Été 2023

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