Intersectionality
& GBA+

Argues that the dominant "interest group" model of representation in Canadian public policy research is insufficient — and that training the next generation of policy researchers requires embedding intersectional analysis as a core methodological commitment, not an add-on. Sets out a framework for what an intersectional shift in both research design and graduate training would actually require.

Critically examines the federal government's GBA+ framework in the wake of COVID-19, documenting the tensions between its stated ambitions and its actual application in policy development. Identifies structural weaknesses — including inconsistent application, limited accountability mechanisms, and a tendency to conflate GBA+ with gender disaggregation — and charts a path toward a more robust intersectional evaluation framework for federal policy.

Investigates whether the 2001 extension of EI paid parental leave — from 10 to 35 weeks — altered the seasonal pattern of births in Canada. Finds strong evidence that birth seasonality shifted after 2001, with a notable decline in spring births and an increase in late summer and early fall births, concentrated among married women aged 25–34. Demonstrates that public policy can influence conception timing, with downstream implications for health, educational preparedness, and development outcomes.

Documents the disproportionate and intersecting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on women in Canada — including labour market disruption, caregiving burden, intimate partner violence, and access to health services. Synthesizes the evidence base and provides policy recommendations for a gender-responsive recovery grounded in intersectional analysis.

An interdisciplinary Royal Society of Canada expert panel report examining the economic dimensions of COVID-19 recovery in Canada. Makes the case for rebuilding the social contract — strengthening income supports, addressing structural inequalities exposed by the pandemic, and designing recovery measures that are equitable across income, gender, and racialized communities.

Uses Labour Force Survey microdata to document the gendered labour market impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta — examining employment losses, sector concentration, and the differential recovery trajectories of men and women. Situates Alberta's experience within the national pattern and draws implications for the province's economic future.

Develops a framework for equity-based stewardship of housing data — arguing that data collection, curation, and access decisions are not neutral and must be evaluated through an equity lens. Applies the framework to the Affordable Housing Supply Monitor Initiative, identifying gaps in existing data infrastructure and proposing governance principles to ensure that housing evidence serves historically underserved communities.

Policy report version of the Alberta Futures book chapter. Presents empirical analysis of gendered employment losses and recovery in Alberta during COVID-19 using Labour Force Survey data, with direct policy implications for the design of recovery supports and the province's long-term labour market strategy.

Argues that infrastructure-centred COVID-19 recovery strategies — heavily weighted toward construction and physical capital — would disproportionately benefit men while leaving women's pandemic-driven labour market losses unaddressed. Applies GBA+ to evaluate the distributional implications of Canada's early recovery design and calls for a broader conception of "infrastructure" that includes care work and social services.

Provides the BC Basic Income Expert Panel with an enhanced GBA+ framework — moving beyond single-axis gender analysis to a fully intersectional approach. Includes a BC case study demonstrating how the framework applies to income and social support policy, establishing the analytical foundation used across the panel's other GBA+ analyses.

Applies the enhanced GBA+ framework to compare basic income and basic services as alternative approaches to reforming BC's social support system — examining how each option would distribute benefits and costs across women, racialized people, persons with disabilities, and other equity-deserving groups. Finds that each approach has distinct distributional profiles with important trade-offs for different populations.

Applies GBA+ to BC's existing income and social support system — mapping the distributional profile of individual programs and the system as a whole across dimensions of gender, race, disability, and income. Identifies where the system disproportionately fails equity-deserving groups and provides the baseline against which the panel's reform proposals are evaluated.