We are in the year 2020 and it is high time we realize the obvious: without women sharing their perspectives in a society that has long favoured the viewpoint of men, gaps in knowledge and misrepresentation will run rampant in our communities.
As such, a gendered lens in research reveals the disparities we see in gender equality today. By exploring the contributions of women in research, we can come to understand the crucial roles that women have in shaping our society.
Dr. Patricia Hania: The Role of First Nations women in water governance
Natural resource construction often takes place on Indigenous territories, impacting water supply and aquatic systems. The 2006 Clean Water Act was established as a result of an e.coli contamination in Bruce County, Ont. back in 2000. It states that water plans are to be established by a localized water source protection committee. However, official guidelines are leaving out key decision-makers in Indigenous communities: First Nations women.
Patricia Hania, who teaches business law at Ryerson University, examined this in her research paper published in 2019, “Revitalizing Indigenous Women’s Water Governance Roles in Impact and Benefit Agreement Processes Through Indigenous Legal Orders and Water Stories.”
While working on her doctoral research at Osgoode Hall Law School, Hania came across the issue by observing Canada’s shift towards a participatory governance strategy (shared governance) in water systems.
According to Hania, many Indigenous women are recognized in their communities as the “water knowledge” keeper; those who hold a responsibility to protect water and have a special relationship with it.
Despite this, she said water governance under the Act is not culturally inclusive enough, as First Nations women are not being recognized for their role.
“The research indicates that Indigenous women don't participate even though they have particular knowledge within their community,” says Hania. “Their knowledge is not coming into the processes, and not being incorporated into water or forestry plans. It means they're being ignored.”
By shedding light on the need for Indigenous women in water governance, Hania hopes that policymakers, regulators, and businesses will understand the importance of Indigenous women, their role in governance and offer them a seat at the table.
Romana Mirza: Muslim women and modest fashion through an intersectional lens
Romana Mirza published research in 2019 regarding consumers in the modest fashion industry. As a Muslim woman currently in her second-year of a communication and culture PhD joint program by Ryerson and York University, Mirza saw a lack of research on Muslim women and modest fashion through an intersectional lens, so she took on researching how their dress preferences are influenced by their lived experiences.
Her master’s research project, “Women Undercover: Exploring the Intersectional Identities of Muslim Women through Modest Fashion” was put together while she was pursuing her masters in fashion studies at Ryerson. The project is a culmination of wardrobe interviews with sixteen Muslim women and the digital storytelling from four others. Mirza’s research highlighted what influenced their style, how they shaped and styled their outfits, and the repercussions they faced in their modest dress.
“The research uncovers the reasons why [a Muslim woman] dresses modestly, how she puts together her outfit, what's important for her,” said Mirza. “And it was revealed that the Hijab is sort of the last thought when putting an outfit together. There's so much more that comes into play when women are making these considerations.”
Her findings showed that the fashion choices of these women were made through navigating westernized beauty ideas and Islamophobic stereotypes.
“I wanted to shine a light on how discriminatory so many of the thoughts and processes are in the west about the hijab and modest dress practises,” said Mirza.
Using wardrobe interviews, where she entered the homes of the participants in her research, Mirza said she was able to observe their body language, their words, facial expressions, their outfits and how they put outfits together.
A few research subjects put together their own digital stories by using tools such as music, photos, videos, and scripts. As a result, Mirza said the stories built narratives that represented their own points of view, which was devoid of editorial cuts or outside biases.
From her research, Mirza hopes to show the importance of intersectionality and using an intersectional lens when studying groups that are outside of one’s own identity.
“It just brings you a much richer level of data, so academically I hope this is going to be the start of research that takes a more intersectional approach with women who veil and are modest dressers,” said Mirza.
Dr. Pamela Palmater: Sexualized Violence against Indigenous women
In 2016, Dr. Pamela Palmater published her research in the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, titled “Shining Light on the Dark Place: addressing Police Racism and Sexualized Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls in the National Inquiry.”
As a Mi’kmaq citizen, as well as an associate professor and chair in Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University, Palmater is a practising lawyer who has been researching, volunteering and working in First Nations for over 25 years.
In 2019, a national inquiry determined that Canada is guilty of historic and ongoing genocide of Indigenous women and girls, in which Palmater said that part of the problem was due to the normalization of violence against First Nations women and girls.
“A less well-known problem is the sexualized violence by police officers and correctional officers against Indigenous women and girls on a widespread basis, and how that contributes to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls,” said Palmater.
Palmater’s article cites a 2013 Human Rights Watch investigation into police abuse in northern British Columbia, detailing multiple reports of physical and sexual abuse by law enforcement against Indigenous women and girls. The report revealed that individuals who participated in the investigation feared retaliation from the police, if they spoke out against the abuse.
It also stated that those who did not participate in the investigation claimed to have experienced unprovoked police beatings, rapes, and witnessed police stalking unarmed Indigenous women and girls.
“The ability of police officers to use their data banks to track these women and girls if they may complain, and harass and bully them or lay false charges … We know from all the national inquiries and the evidence that the police do engage in those kinds of racist and corrupt acts,” said Palmater.
By continuing to bring attention to this, Palmater believes it will keep pushing governments for change and informing national inquiries to encourage police accountability.
“We need to continue the research, continue the pressure, in some cases our research might help inform litigation, or legislative amendments,” said Palmater.
We are in the year 2020 and it is high time we realize the obvious: without women sharing their perspectives in a society that has long favoured the viewpoint of men, gaps in knowledge and misrepresentation will run rampant in our communities.
As such, a gendered lens in research reveals the disparities we see in gender equality today. By exploring the contributions of women in research, we can come to understand the crucial roles that women have in shaping our society.
Dr. Patricia Hania: The Role of First Nations women in water governance
Natural resource construction often takes place on Indigenous territories, impacting water supply and aquatic systems. The 2006 Clean Water Act was established as a result of an e.coli contamination in Bruce County, Ont. back in 2000. It states that water plans are to be established by a localized water source protection committee. However, official guidelines are leaving out key decision-makers in Indigenous communities: First Nations women.
Patricia Hania, who teaches business law at Ryerson University, examined this in her research paper published in 2019, “Revitalizing Indigenous Women’s Water Governance Roles in Impact and Benefit Agreement Processes Through Indigenous Legal Orders and Water Stories.”
While working on her doctoral research at Osgoode Hall Law School, Hania came across the issue by observing Canada’s shift towards a participatory governance strategy (shared governance) in water systems.
According to Hania, many Indigenous women are recognized in their communities as the “water knowledge” keeper; those who hold a responsibility to protect water and have a special relationship with it.
Despite this, she said water governance under the Act is not culturally inclusive enough, as First Nations women are not being recognized for their role.
“The research indicates that Indigenous women don't participate even though they have particular knowledge within their community,” says Hania. “Their knowledge is not coming into the processes, and not being incorporated into water or forestry plans. It means they're being ignored.”
By shedding light on the need for Indigenous women in water governance, Hania hopes that policymakers, regulators, and businesses will understand the importance of Indigenous women, their role in governance and offer them a seat at the table.
Romana Mirza: Muslim women and modest fashion through an intersectional lens
Romana Mirza published research in 2019 regarding consumers in the modest fashion industry. As a Muslim woman currently in her second-year of a communication and culture PhD joint program by Ryerson and York University, Mirza saw a lack of research on Muslim women and modest fashion through an intersectional lens, so she took on researching how their dress preferences are influenced by their lived experiences.
Her master’s research project, “Women Undercover: Exploring the Intersectional Identities of Muslim Women through Modest Fashion” was put together while she was pursuing her masters in fashion studies at Ryerson. The project is a culmination of wardrobe interviews with sixteen Muslim women and the digital storytelling from four others. Mirza’s research highlighted what influenced their style, how they shaped and styled their outfits, and the repercussions they faced in their modest dress.
“The research uncovers the reasons why [a Muslim woman] dresses modestly, how she puts together her outfit, what's important for her,” said Mirza. “And it was revealed that the Hijab is sort of the last thought when putting an outfit together. There's so much more that comes into play when women are making these considerations.”
Her findings showed that the fashion choices of these women were made through navigating westernized beauty ideas and Islamophobic stereotypes.
“I wanted to shine a light on how discriminatory so many of the thoughts and processes are in the west about the hijab and modest dress practises,” said Mirza.
Using wardrobe interviews, where she entered the homes of the participants in her research, Mirza said she was able to observe their body language, their words, facial expressions, their outfits and how they put outfits together.
A few research subjects put together their own digital stories by using tools such as music, photos, videos, and scripts. As a result, Mirza said the stories built narratives that represented their own points of view, which was devoid of editorial cuts or outside biases.
From her research, Mirza hopes to show the importance of intersectionality and using an intersectional lens when studying groups that are outside of one’s own identity.
“It just brings you a much richer level of data, so academically I hope this is going to be the start of research that takes a more intersectional approach with women who veil and are modest dressers,” said Mirza.
Dr. Pamela Palmater: Sexualized Violence against Indigenous women
In 2016, Dr. Pamela Palmater published her research in the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, titled “Shining Light on the Dark Place: addressing Police Racism and Sexualized Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls in the National Inquiry.”
As a Mi’kmaq citizen, as well as an associate professor and chair in Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University, Palmater is a practising lawyer who has been researching, volunteering and working in First Nations for over 25 years.
In 2019, a national inquiry determined that Canada is guilty of historic and ongoing genocide of Indigenous women and girls, in which Palmater said that part of the problem was due to the normalization of violence against First Nations women and girls.
“A less well-known problem is the sexualized violence by police officers and correctional officers against Indigenous women and girls on a widespread basis, and how that contributes to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls,” said Palmater.
Palmater’s article cites a 2013 Human Rights Watch investigation into police abuse in northern British Columbia, detailing multiple reports of physical and sexual abuse by law enforcement against Indigenous women and girls. The report revealed that individuals who participated in the investigation feared retaliation from the police, if they spoke out against the abuse.
It also stated that those who did not participate in the investigation claimed to have experienced unprovoked police beatings, rapes, and witnessed police stalking unarmed Indigenous women and girls.
“The ability of police officers to use their data banks to track these women and girls if they may complain, and harass and bully them or lay false charges … We know from all the national inquiries and the evidence that the police do engage in those kinds of racist and corrupt acts,” said Palmater.
By continuing to bring attention to this, Palmater believes it will keep pushing governments for change and informing national inquiries to encourage police accountability.
“We need to continue the research, continue the pressure, in some cases our research might help inform litigation, or legislative amendments,” said Palmater.
