Perry Work Report: work&labour news&research, January 22, 2016

January 22, 2016

Follow us on the CIRHR Library Tumblr and on the CIRHR Library Twitter.

Clawbies... And the Winners For 2015 Are...

“[B]efore we proceed to relate the winners of our 10th annual Clawbies, we wanted to reassert the importance of law blogs for individual lawyers, for the business of law firms, and for the people and businesses lawyers serve. The Clawbies have never had a specific checklist of criteria against which nominees are judged. But we believe very strongly that the best law blogs have always answered, and still answer today, to four key characteristics.

  1. They are practical, offering implementable insights and real-world solutions for readers more than airy reflections on the state of the law.
  2. They are genuine, delivering the authentic voice and actual opinions of the lawyers who write them.
  3. They are conversational, engaging the reader as an interested and intelligent observer who has as much to contribute as she has to learn.
  4. They are about improving the legal system, either by expanding the knowledge base of citizens and clients or making law better for society.”

“These are the standards against which we’ve always tried to measure the most deserving Clawbies candidates, and once again this year, we’ve had no shortage of worthy nominees who tick most if not all of these boxes. Without further ado, we are very proud to announce the winners of the 2015 Clawbie Awards for the best law blogs in Canada!”

2015 Clawbies: Canadian Law Blog Awards (scroll down for the winners)

Back to top

Unions' Role in Workplace Safety

“A new study says unionized construction workers in Ontario are less likely to be injured and have less time lost on the job than construction workers who are not in a union, confirming that there is a ‘union safety effect’ on workplaces, according to those behind the study.”

“[Sean Strickland, the CEO of the Ontario Construction Secretariat, a not-for-profit that represents the interests of the unionized construction industry and the organization that funded the study said]’:

“For years, the unionized industry has said that we are safer than the non-union. Anecdotally, our industry said we’re safer because of the investments we make in training. But there’s never been any kind of scientific, peer-reviewed study to examine this question.”

“The study, conducted by the Institute for Work and Health, stated that: 'Unionized firms may encourage occupational injury reporting and reduce risks through training and hazard identification and control strategies.'"

“Worker participation, union participation in health and safety matters means healthier and safer workplaces,” said [Robert Storey, the director of labour studies at McMaster University].”

“He said that legislation around workers’ rights and safety has to catch up with the changing economy and workforce which has many people in jobs that are not secure and therefore employees are less likely to stand up for their rights.”

“Prof. Storey said that while there is legislation protecting the safety of workers, it is ineffective unless there is a union present to help enforce the rules.”

Safe and Healthy Workplaces -- it’s the Law

“Canada’s health and safety laws have more clout today, following a landmark court ruling in Ontario that saw, for the first time, a manager held criminally responsible and sentenced to prison for actions that resulted in the deaths of four workers under his watch.”

“Unions worked for years to convince the government of Canada to change the criminal code, so employers who endanger the health and safety of workers would face such a penalty. Inspired by the 1992 explosion and collapse of the Westray mine that killed 26 men, the decade-long campaign to change the law succeeded in 2004.”

Institute for Work and Health, 2015: “Protecting Construction Worker Health and Safety in Ontario, Canada: Identifying a Union Safety Effect,” by Amick, Benjamin C. III; Hogg-Johnson, Sheilah; Latour-Villamil, Desiree; Saunders, Ron

The Hill Times, January 11, 2016: “Unionized construction workers in Ontario less likely to be injured, less lost time than non-unionized workers, says new study,” by Denis Calnan

Canadian Labour Congress, January 11, 2016: “Safe and healthy workplaces -- it’s the law”

Ontario Superior Court of Justice, January 11, 2016: “R. v Vadim Kazenelson, 2016 ONSC 25 (CanLII)”

Back to top

Construction and Maintenance in Alberta

“Alberta could lose 31,000 construction jobs by 2019, according to a national labour forecast.”

“’The oil price decline is driving employment lower across all construction sectors,’ says BuildForce Canada’s 2016-25 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward forecast.”

“In the oilsands alone, construction jobs are forecast to decline by 28 per cent from the peak in 2014.”

“One bright spot in the short term is commercial building, where current project activity is expected to continue in 2016 before slowing in 2017, and then grow in steady increments over the long term.”

CBC News, January 18, 2016: “Alberta to lose 31,000 construction jobs, says BuildForce Canada labour forecast

BuildForce Canada, January 2016: “Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward” (9 pages, PDF)

Back to top

The Persistence of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

In the Tech Industry

“A recent report finds that 60 percent of women working in the tech industry in Silicon Valley have experienced sexual harassment. A staggering 90 percent of the women interviewed in the study, which was titled Elephant in the Valley, reportedly ‘witnessed sexist behavior at company offsites and/or industry conferences.’”

“Women comprise a disproportionately small number of tech jobs, and that number is shrinking. [But t]he fact that men make up the majority of tech doesn’t reflect women’s ability and interest in the industry. Amelie is a cybersecurity professional for the federal government; she formerly worked for a multinational entertainment conglomerate. As a trans woman, she has a unique perspective on the gender dynamics in the tech industry.”

“Ever since she transitioned from male to female, Amelie says that she noticed a marked difference in the way her colleagues behave toward her. ‘I’ve been told that I’m too aggressive and intimidating, and this is by men,’ she explains, adding that the criticism is ironic. Her male colleagues are themselves exceedingly aggressive, she notes. She’s also experienced male coworkers who ‘mansplained a topic [that] I’m actually an expert in.’”

“Despite there being just a handful of women leaders in the tech industry, ‘little is done to foster and develop females, namely because there’s little to no role models or mentoring,’ Amelie explains.” 

Head over to Elephant in the Valley to read a number of women’s stories. You can also listen to a podcast interview on Re/Code with two of the study’s co-authors, Trae Vassallo and Michele Madansky.

Broadly, January 12, 2016: “For Women in Tech, Sexual Harassment Is Part of the Job,” by Diana Tourjee

Massage Therapists

“Many women who work as professional massage therapists say they face constant sexual harassment -- inappropriate requests, heckling, and unwanted touching -- from their male clients.”

“To ward off clients looking for sex, [self-employed massage therapist] Sara’s Gumtree post states in capital letters: ‘I AM A PROFESSIONAL THERAPIST AND DO NOT OFFER SEXUAL SERVICES.’ There is no solid data for how often therapists who do not offer sex are harassed for it, so I decided to conduct my own little survey. I called up other therapists whose advertisements bear the same disclaimer as Sara’s (about half the ads). The anecdotal evidence was pretty substantial.”

Broadly, January 13, 2016: “Female Massage Therapists Face Persistent Sexual Harassment,” by Venessa Parekh

2015: A Year in Canadian Reports

“A number of public investigations and reports illuminated the way in which sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive behaviour, are present within large institutions and should be addressed.”

“The Report on the Canadian Military - The Honourable Marie Deschamps, former SCC Justice, was tasked with conducting an external review into sexual misconduct and sexual harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces. Ms. Deschamps’ key findings, which were released in April 2015, found: (i) the existence of a sexualized culture; (ii) policies with deficient definitions of prohibited conduct; (iii) ineffective complaint processes and procedures; and (iv) ineffective training of members and officers.”

“The Dalhousie Reports - In December 2014, female students in Dalhousie’s Faculty of Dentistry filed complaints under Dalhousie’s Sexual Harassment Policy over the posting of offensive material about women in a private men’s Facebook group. Two reports detailed the extent to which Dalhousie’s School of Dentistry suffered from a deeply rooted sexist and misogynistic culture, which went above and beyond the mere Facebook group postings.”

“The CBC Report - In late 2014, the CBC launched an investigation into the workplace conduct of Jian Ghomeshi. The findings, which were publicly released in April 2015, found that Mr. Ghomeshi engaged in a pattern of disrespectful workplace behaviour, including incidents of sexual harassment, that was contrary to CBC’s Behavioural Standard as set out in its policies and Collective Agrement. The CBC Report also found that management: (i) ought to have known of Mr. Ghomeshi’s disrespectful workplace conduct; and (ii) condoned the behaviour by failing to properly address it.”

Lexology, January 16, 2016: “The Year of the Report”

Canadian Armed Forces, April 20, 2015: “External Review into Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces,” by Marie Deschamps (102 pages, PDF)

Dalhousie University, June 2015: “Report of the Task Force on Misogyny, Sexism and Homophobia in Dalhousie University Faculty of Dentistry” (103 pages, PDF)

Dalhousie University, May 2015: “Report from the Restorative Justice Process at the Dalhousie University Faculty of Dentistry” (72 pages, PDF)

RubinThomlinson, April 13, 2015:  CBC Workplace Investigation Regarding Jian Ghomeshi Report (56 pages, PDF)

Back to top

Canada Must Settle For Second Best

“Sorry Canada. Germany is apparently the best country in the world.  We’re second, according to a new report released Wednesday [January 20, 2016] at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos.”

“Canada ranked particularly well in the citizenship, entrepreneurship, and open for business categories. Trudeau, who spoke Wednesday morning at Davos, will pitch Canada as a ‘great place to invest’ at World Economic Forum and his argument could be bolstered as Canada was ranked first overall in the ‘quality of life’ category that looked at things like education, public health care, safety and economic stability.”

“However, the report noted that while ‘Canada is a high-tech industrial society with a high standard of living. Canada faces domestic challenges related to the concerns of indigenous people and those in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec.’”

Browse the report e-book online (232 pages, interactive PDF), or download it here (232 pages, PDF).

Watch Justin Trudeau’s speech at World Economic Forum in Davos here.

Global News, January 20, 2016: “Canada named 2nd best country in the world: report,” by Andrew Russell

U.S. News Best Countries -- Canada [website]

Back to top

Differences of Language on Twitter

“A new study shows there may be some truth to Canadians’ politeness when compared to our American counterparts -- at least on Twitter.”

“The study, conducted by researchers at McMaster University, found that Canadians use disproportionately polite words on the social network, such as ‘great,’ ‘amazing’ or ‘favourite,’ while Americans disproportionately use less polite words -- many of which can’t be printed here.”

“The researchers looked at about 2.3 million tweets sent out between February and October 2015 in Southern Ontario, close to the U.S. border.”

“The idea, according to lead author Daniel Schmidtke, was to see how different language can be for people who live very close to each other, but separated by a political border.”

“The group wants to take their research further by looking at a whole year of tweets, to get a more accurate picture of what people tweet. They’ve also started collecting tweets from other parts of the Canada-U.S. border, such as the area around Vancouver and Seattle. The preliminary results have been promising, he said.”

Toronto Star, January 8, 2015: “Canadians more polite on Twitter than Americans, study says,” by Oliver Sachgau

Mcmaster University, 2015: “Word usage across the US and Canadian border“ programmed by Daniel Schmidtke

Back to top

Passionately Pursuing a Career -- Even When it's Illegal

“Dance is illegal in Iran. Before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the country poured funding into the arts, especially dance programs that combined elements of traditional dance with Western disciplines like ballet. After the Shah’s government was overthrown, dance was declared sinful. The Iranian National Ballet Company was disbanded in 1979, shortly after all its foreign dancers fled the country.”

“Their Iranian counterparts were left with three choices: Give up on their life’s work and find another way to pay their rent; leave Iran and revive the company somewhere else (Les Ballets Persans is currently operating out of Stockholm), or stay in Iran and -- through a combination of subterfuge, bribery, and outright defiance -- keep dancing.”

“These days, classes are held in abandoned hospital basements, office blocks, or silently conducted in the teacher’s homes. More often than not, a teacher counts out the beat for the dancers, rather than risk playing music and alerting the neighbours.”

“While the 1979 Revolution ended many dancers’ careers, it did create unusual opportunities for people like Nassrin*, a young dancer who has -- almost by chance -- become one of the only suppliers of dance shoes in Tehran. Before the Revolution, professional and amateur dancers could buy their shoes from multiple places, and take their pick from cheap and cheerful basics to high-quality ballet shoes. Thirty-five years on, Tehran’s shoemakers have largely moved on, died off, or given up. Nassrin advertises her work via Instagram and is fairly philosophical about the risks: ‘I make dance shoes. They cannot forbid making shoes.’”

Broadly, January 11, 2016: “The Illegal, Underground Ballerinas of Iran,” by Beulah Devaney

Back to top

The Plight of the Handsome, Hard-Working Male

“Gentlemen, do you ever wake up and rue the fact that you’re so handsome? Here you are, super talented and hard-working, and yet you just can’t land a decent job because you’ve been bestowed the misfortune of good genes. Life is tough, indeed.”

A study out of the University College London’s School of Management and the University of Maryland, published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, “has found that good-looking men are seen as a threat by their male bosses and are less likely to be given roles that showcase their individual talents as a result.”

“The study, meanwhile, determined that attractive women do not face the same challenges.”

Notable, January 14, 2016: “It Turns Out Being Extremely Handsome Can Be Detrimental to a Man’s Career,” by Christian Nathler

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, December 2015: “When beauty helps and when it hurts: An organizational context model of attractiveness discrimination in selection decisions,” by Sun Young Lee, Marko Pitesa, Madan Pillutla, and Stefan Thau (14 pages, PDF)

“So what might this tell us about recruitment practices in the higher education sector?”

“In a number of institutions, faculty and other members -- rather than any third parties -- play a key role in recruiting their future peers. Institutions, and also decision-makers themselves, need to be aware that certain cultures and reward systems may encourage hiring decisions that serve self-interests rather than the organisation’s goal of bringing in the best candidates.”

“Even when rewards systems and cultures are collaborative, some decision-makers may feel like hiring a candidate who is most likely to help their own career success even though the candidate’s fit with the institution isn’t as good as other candidates that are also available. Awareness might be a good remedy, as I believe that we often tend to make self-interested decisions without even knowing it. Engaging different levels of institutional members and external representatives in recruitment processes can help enormously to improve procedural fairness and selection outcomes.”

Times Higher Education, January 12, 2016: “Are good-looking men predestined to do well in academic careers?,” by Sun Young Lee

Back to top

An Optimistic Look at Long Hours

“It’s a common belief that working longer hours can only cause problems in your relationship. However new research has shown that there is no link between working long hours and an unhappy relationship, and in fact even the opposite might be true.”

“A team of researchers from studied 285 couples in which both partners were pursuing their careers to look at a possible negative effect of long working hours on their relationships. The majority of the participants worked as academics at a university, with the remaining participants working in academic professions such as teaching or law or in managerial or technical positions such as IT consultant or engineer.”

“Instead of finding that working longer hours had a negative effect on the couple’s relationship satisfaction, the team found that couples actually made extra effort with each other after work to make up for time lost with their partners through working long hours, leading the researchers to suggest that longer working hours could in some cases even be beneficial for a relationship.”

CTV News, January 10, 2016: “Do long working hours affect relationship happiness? Not according to a new study”

Human Relations, 2015: “The longer your work hours, the worse your relationship? The role of selective optimization with compensation in the associations of working time with relationship satisfaction and self-disclosure in dual-career couples, ”by Dana Unger, Sabine Sonnentag, Cornelia Niessen, Angela Kuonath (24 pages, PDF)

Where Do People Work Longer Hours?

“There are two stylised facts on geographical differences in working hours across countries and regions.

  • First, working hours are longer in less developed countries.
  • Second, working hours are longer in more urbanised regions than rural regions.”

“Although working hours are long, individual welfare is shown to be high in urban regions with high population density as compared to rural regions. This may suggest that the urban policy of shortening working hours may not be desirable from a social welfare point of view.”

VOX EU, January 4, 2016: “Working hours decrease due to technological progress and increase due to urban agglomeration,” by Akanori Ago, Tadashi Morita, Takatoshi Tabuchi, and Kazuhiro Yamamoto

Back to top

An Economy For the 1%

“The gaping chasm between the world’s richest and poorest citizens is widening more rapidly than expected, says Oxfam International, and it’s a trend being reflected here in Canada.”

Oxfam estimates "that the richest 62 people on Earth now own the same amount of wealth as the poorest half of the global population (approximately 3.6 billion people). Meanwhile, the have-nots are getting poorer and the resulting inequality is getting worse -- fast. While developing nations certainly see the starkest inequality, Canada is a kind of microcosm of the broader global pattern, noted Oxfam Canada executive director Julie Delahanty.”

“In Canada there continues to be this huge gap between the rich and the poor, and it’s growing,” she said. “The people who are really losing out ... are the working poor in particular, who are not seeing the gains of economic growth.”

According to Oxfam Canada:

  • 5 Canadians have the same amount of wealth as the bottom 30% of our population -- more than 11 million people, and their has risen $16.9 billion since 2010, a 44% increase
  • The poorest 10% make only about $2.30 more per day than they did 25 years ago
  • The poorest 50% has received only 26% of the total increase in income growth

“On the legislative side, Oxfam Canada is encouraging the Canadian government to look at forcing the closure of the gender wage gap. Studies have shown that Canadian women are still making, on average, about $8,000 less a year than men for doing the same job.”

Global News, January 19, 2015: “Canada not immune to worsening inequality, Oxfam report suggests,” by Monique Muise

Back to top

Child Labour Behind Smart Phone and Electric Car Batteries

”Major electronics brands, including Apple, Samsung and Sony, are failing to do basic checks to ensure that cobalt mined by child labourers has not been used in their products, said Amnesty International and Afrewatch in a report published today.”
“The report traces the sale of cobalt, used in lithium-ion batteries, from mines where children as young as seven and adults work in perilous conditions.”

“Amnesty International’s investigation uses investor documents to show how Huayou Cobalt and its subsidiary CDM process the cobalt before selling it to three battery component manufacturers in China and South Korea. In turn, they sell to battery makers who claim to supply technology and car companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, Daimler and Volkswagen.”

“Amnesty International and Afrewatch are calling on multinational companies who use lithium-ion batteries in their products to conduct human rights due diligence, investigate whether the cobalt is extracted under hazardous conditions or with child labour, and be more transparent about their suppliers.”

Amnesty International, January 19, 2016: “Exposed: Child labour behind smart phone and electric car batteries“

Amnesty International, January 19, 2016: “‘This is what we die for’: Human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo power the global trade in cobalt” (88 pages, PDF)

Back to top

Supreme Court Poised to Deal Unions a Major Setback?

“In a closely watched case brought by 10 California teachers, the court’s conservative majority seemed ready to say that forcing public workers to support unions they have declined to join violates the First Amendment.”

“A ruling in the teachers’ favor would affect millions of government workers and culminate a political and legal campaign by a group of prominent conservative foundations aimed at weakening public-sector unions. Those unions stand to lose fees from both workers who object to the positions the unions take and those who simply choose not to join while benefiting from the unions’ efforts on their behalf.”

“Unions say the teachers’ First Amendment argument is a ruse. Nonmembers are already entitled to refunds of payments spent on political activities like advertising to support a political candidate. Collective bargaining is different, the unions say, adding that the plaintiffs are seeking to reap the benefits of such bargaining without paying their fair share of the cost.”

“The larger threat, the unions and their supporters say, is that a decision in the plaintiffs’ favor would encourage many workers who are perfectly happy with the work of their unions to make the economically rational decision to opt out of paying for it.”

The New York Times, January 11, 2016: "Supreme Court Seems Poised to Deal Unions a Major Setback,” by Adam Liptak

The New York Times, January 11, 2016: “Issues and Implications in Supreme Court’s Public Union Case,” by Adam Liptak

Back to top

World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting

Who Won Davos? Day 1: O Canada!

“Any chance that the first full day of the World Economic Forum in Davos would be marked by fresh-faced delegates with a spring in their step was quickly dashed. The news that greeted the global elite as they emerged from their Alpine chalets was unrelentingly gloomy.”

“Then came the Northern Lights. Newly installed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ... delivered the pitch-perfect neo-utopian geopolitical message that goes down well among this crowd.”

“The relentless optimism of Canada’s leader -- slipping seamlessly between English and French -- was enthusiastically out-of-step with the prevailing mood of the other big names making appearances on the first day of the jamboree.”

“Despite tumbling oil prices, the threat of terrorism, and onset of climate change, ‘I can’t help but be tremendously optimistic,’ he stressed, taking the glass half-full stance on every issue that others fretted about during the day. (See for yourself.)” Perhaps because we are such a hard-working, never-give-up bunch.

Watch Justin Trudeau’s speech at World Economic Forum in Davos here.

Quartz, January 21, 2016: “Who won Davos? Day 1: O Canada!,” by Jason Karaian

World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting -- See the highlights, watch a live broadcast, or learn more about the programme and the speakers [website]

“Men Still Run the World -- and it’s Not Going That Well” 

“Among the issues on the [Davos] to do list: How to close the gender gap.”

“Setting aside the uncomfortable fact that only 18% of the bustling billionaires, politicos, and celebs traipsing through the busy streets of Davos are women, the issue is a very real one for the global economy. ...There’s not a part of the world where governments and companies can’t do more to make it easier for women to get back to work and stay there.”

“A good start might be on equalizing pay for women. Here are some [additional] suggestions put forward by the big brains in Davos, as well as a few of our own.”

  • The Super-Doula: In Denmark, the government pays for women to have a kraamzorg, a sort of super doula who comes for eight hours a day for eight days after a woman has given birth to help new mother,... Single mothers, mothers who had a tough birth, or those with more children get the kraamzorg for longer.
  • Earlier day care: In France, women can take their babies to a creche, or high-quality day care center, from about six weeks. Families pay on a sliding scale based on income and the centers are highly regulated with national standards, unlike in the United States. 
  • Longer school days: Kids in France start school at age 2.5. ... [T]hey can go early (“garderie”) and stay late, from 4:30pm usually until 6:30pm. There are multiple benefits to this system. Parents can work, get food for dinner or go to the gym. 
  • Workplace flexibility: Claudia Goldin, a Harvard professor, writes: “The gender gap in pay would be considerably reduced and might vanish altogether if firms did not have an incentive to disproportionately reward individuals who labored long hours and worked particular hours.”
  • Career interventions: The issue is managing women as they advance -- or stumble -- in their careers and intervening more to discuss goals and obstacles and how to overcome them. Many women leave before they get to the first possibility for promotion; better dialogue earlier on would help.
  • Promote talent earlier: One intervention Bloomberg is experimenting with is promoting high-potential talent earlier. “When we looked at younger women in the organization who had senior roles sooner, they had more of an incentive to come back financially, and when they are back, they are more confident to take the flexibility they need to stay,” Kiersten Salander, deputy chief of staff to the chairman told Quartz.

Quartz, January 21, 2016: “Report from Davos: 'Men still run the world -- and it’s not going that well,’” by Jenny Anderson

Back to top

Corporate Knights 2016 Global 100

Spotlight on the 2016 Global 100, January 20, 2016: "Winter 2016 Issue: European companies continue to dominate Global 100 ranking" (Request the results from this page)

Corporate Knights, January 18, 2016: “2016 Eco-Fund Ratings”

Back to top

Everyone and Everywhere in the World Now Has a Simple Address

“What is What3words?: The world is poorly addressed. This is frustrating and costly in developed nations; and in developing nations this is life-threatening and growth limiting.”

“what3words is a unique combination of just 3 words that identifies a 3mx3m square, anywhere on the planet.”

“It’s far more accurate than a postal address and it’s much easier to remember, use and share than a set of coordinates.”

“Better addressing improves customer experience, delivers business efficiencies, drives growth and helps the social and economic development of countries.”

what3words website: “The simplest way to communicate location”

From the technical report: “A w3w address can also be thought of as the geographical equivalent of an IP address (Internet Protocol). Every accessible machine or device on the Internet is identified by a series of four numbers between 0 and 255 (IPv4) e.g.130.88.98.244. So far the number of combinations has been adequate but as the Internet expands the number of combinations is not enough so a new version of IP addressing is being adopted which will be a combination of 8 groups of 4 hexadecimal numbers (IPv6) (discussed more fully below). However humans do not find a numerical sequence easy to remember. For this reason resources on the internet are given more human friendly text names. The IP address above is better known as www.manchester.ac.uk -- the WWW home page of the University of Manchester. A w3w address could be expressed as three numbers between 1 and 40000. e.g.13621.48.30127. Like an IP address that is hard for humans to remember, though potentially easier than a Latitude and Longitude or a Map Coordinate. In the w3w system, each of those numbers is replaced by a word, chosen from a 40000 word dictionary. For example “wishes.ripe.crust” is the w3w address for the main entrance to Manchester University. When entered on the what3words.com web site or app, or into a compatible application, it will show the location of the front entrance.

Download the technical report to learn more about how it works.

Back to top

Book of the Week

Gender at Work: Theory and Practice for 21st Century Organizations, by Aruna Rao, Joanne Sandler, David Kelleher and Carol Miller. New York, NY: Routledge, 2016. 210 p. ISBN 9781138910027 (pbk.)

From the publisher: "At a time when some corporate women leaders are advocating for their aspiring sisters to ‘lean in’ for a bigger piece of the existing pie, this book puts the spotlight on the deep structures of organizational culture that hold gender inequality in place. Gender at Work: Theory and Practice for 21st Century Organizations makes a compelling case that transforming the unspoken, informal institutional norms that perpetuate gender inequality in organizations is key to achieving gender equitable outcomes for all. The book is based on the authors' interviews with 30 leaders who broke new ground on gender equality in organizations, international case studies crafted from consultations and organizational evaluations, and lessons from nearly fifteen years of experience of Gender at Work, a learning collaborative of 30 gender equality experts. From the Dalit women’s groups in India who fought structural discrimination in the largest ‘right to work’ program in the world, to the intrepid activists who challenged the powerful members of the UN Security Council to define mass rape as a tactic of war, the trajectories and analysis in this book will inspire readers to understand and chip away at the deep structures of gender discrimination in organizational policies, practices and outcomes. Designed for practitioners, policy makers, donors, students and researchers looking at gender, development and organizational change, this book offers readers a widely tested tool of analysis -- the Gender at Work Analytical Framework -- to assess the often invisible structures of gender bias in organizations and to map desired strategies and change processes."

Back to top

This information is provided to subscribers, alumni of the Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources (CIRHR), friends, interested faculty and students from across the country and around the globe. The Perry Work Report, formerly the Weekly Work Report 2002 – 2006, is a weekly e-publication of the CIRHR Library, University of Toronto.

The content is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to IR/HR disciplines for the purposes of research, understanding and debate.

The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of the University of Toronto, CIRHR, or that of the editors, and should not be construed as such. The service provides links to the primary documents and research behind the news stories of the day.

This publication is protected by Canadian copyright laws and may not be copied, posted or forwarded electronically without permission. All individual subscriptions, and complimentary copies for students and alumni are not to be redistributed - organizational subscription information is available at: Perry Work Report. The Perry Work Report was named in honour of Elizabeth Perry, editor 2002 to 2006.

Questions or comments: cirhr.library@utoronto.ca

For past issues see our Archives (there is a three month embargo on available issues).

Editors: Vicki Skelton and Melissa Wawrzkiewicz
Designer: Nick Strupat

Copyright © 2015 Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources Library, University of Toronto. All rights reserved.