Guelph-Wellington Women* Leaders and the "Glass Ceiling:" Research Projects

This complex, community-engaged project was conducted in partnership with the Guelph Chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW), and includes initiatives from both the Research Shop and the Community Engaged Teaching and Learning (CETL) program. 

Building off of previous research on women seeking public leadership roles and running for political office, the Research Shop worked with CFUW to interview over 20 participants to explore the opportunities and barriers related to leadership faced by local women who are early- to mid-stage career professionals and leaders in their communities. The research findings highlighted mentorship as a major contributing factor to women successfully attaining leadership positions, and illustrated that barriers to leadership and challenges related to gender ineqity persist. Key results were presented at Guelph-Wellington Women* Leaders and the "Glass Ceiling," a webinar held on International Women's Day 2021.

Read the summary report, see the presentation, and read the transcript: Guelph-Wellington Women* Leaders and the "Glass Ceiling:" Summary of the Results

This project also involved the winter 2021 iteration of SOAN*3070: Qualitative Methods. This course was supported by CESI's CETL program and worked closely with CFUW to explore issues related to women in leadership roles and mentorship. Students researched and wrote reports that addressed gender inequalities in various workplaces; each report detailed the barriers for women in five differenct types of workplaces, potential solutions to these barriers, and the benefits of mentorship to women in the workforce. The class also created a presentation that was given at Guelph-Wellington Women* Leaders and the "Glass Ceiling," It covered women in politics, gender inequality in the workplace, and the importance of mentorship for LGBTQ+ women, women in construction, and women in manufacturing. 

See the presentation: International Women's Day: Presented by Students in Qualitative Methods

Read the infographic: Empowering Women Through Mentorship

*Our definition of women encompasses cisgender women, transgender women, genderqueer women, and two-spirit, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people who are woman-aligned.