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December 15, 1999

SECRETARY OF STATE HEDY FRY NAMES TWO WOMEN TO POLICY RESEARCH FUND

OTTAWA  -- The Honourable Hedy Fry, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) (Status of Women), today announced the appointment of two women to the External Committee that guides the Policy Research Fund (PRF) at Status of Women Canada (SWC), the federal government department promoting the advancement of women's equality.

"We have chosen two exceptional candidates to join a strong team of women with expertise in research and women's equality issues," said Dr. Fry. "Through a nomination process and with the help of external advisors, the two new members were selected to complement the committee's diverse membership."

The two new members of the External Committee for the Policy Research Fund are:

Dr. Agnew and Ms. Pothier join four members currently serving on the External Committee. They are Caroline Andrews, from Ottawa, Ontario; Francine Descarries, from Montreal, Quebec; Isabelle McKee-Allain, from Moncton, New Brunswick; and Elaine Herbert from Vancouver, British Columbia.

"Since its inception in 1997, the Policy Research Fund has responded to a growing need among women's equality advocates, non-government organizations, policy analysts and government decision-makers for research which incorporates a gender analysis of urgent and emerging policy issues," said Dr. Fry.

The independent External Committee, nominated by SWC's stakeholders, plays a determining role in selecting the issues to be studied, the projects to be funded, and in deciding which projects should be published. The research papers express the views and opinions of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official policy or opinion of SWC or the Government of Canada.

The PRF's budget for fiscal year 1999/2000 is $1.2 million. Two new policy research themes entitled Young Women at Risk, and Where Have All the Women Gone? Shifts in Policy Discourses have been identified by the External Committee of the PRF. Research proposals related to these themes will be adjudicated by the external committee in January 2000.

Biographical notes for the External Committee members are attached.

Research papers are available on our Web site at http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca or can be obtained, at no charge, from Status of Women Canada.

Status of Women Canada's External Committee to the Policy Research Fund Members

Caroline Andrew

Professor Andrew has taught in the Department of Political Science at the University of Ottawa since 1971. She is presently Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and was the Coordinator of Women's Studies in 1992-93. She has extensive experience evaluating research and is past president of the Social Science Federation of Canada (1988-89), the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW) (1992-93), and the Canadian Political Science Association (1983-84).

Francine Descarries

Professor Descarries has taught in the Department of Sociology at the Université du Québec à Montreal (UQAM) since 1986 and is presently the Director of Graduate Studies. She was the Director of the Centre de recherche féministe at UQAM from 1988-92 and is a founding member of the Conseil de l'Institut de recherches et d'études féminines (IREF) de l'UQAM. She has done research evaluations for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Conseil québécois de la recherche sociale (CQRS), the Fonds pour la formation de chercheurs et l'aide à la recherche (FCAR), and in 1992 was part of the SSHRC working group to evaluate its Strategic Program on Women and Work.

Isabelle McKee-Allain

Professor McKee-Allain has taught sociology at the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick since 1982, and has been Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences since 1996, Vice-Dean from 1995-96, and Directory of the Sociology Department from 1993-95. Her research expertise lies in the areas of ethnic and gender relations, Acadian women, francophone minorities, women and power; and youth. She has also been involved with the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW), and the Réseau des femmes, New Brunswick. She is a member of the editorial board of the feminist journal, Recherches féministes.

Elaine Herbert

Ms. Herbert is a doctoral student in the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program (Law, Social Work & Education) at the University of British Columbia. She currently works part-time as a therapist for women and children and has worked in the aboriginal community for 18 years as a social worker. She has taught at the University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria and Simon Fraser University in the Schools of Social Work at the undergraduate and graduate levels and Women's Studies departments. Her research activities focus on a gender analysis of First Nations issues, particularly the areas of substance use, violence against women and children, and more currently the treaty-making process in B.C. She is a Shuswap and a member of the Bonaparte First Nation in B.C.

Vijay Agnew

Professor Agnew is an Associate Professor, Division of Social Science at York University in Toronto. She has been teaching at this institution since 1975. Dr. Agnew received her Ph.D in History from the University of Toronto, an M.A. from the University of Waterloo, as well as an LL.B and a B.A. from the University of Bombay, India. Her research has focussed on issues of race, class and gender and she has published numerous books, book chapters and journal articles, and delivered numerous conference papers over the years on these topics. She has served as a board member of the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (1996-1999) and is active in many community-based immigrant women's associations. She has been a volunteer board member on the South Asian Family Support Services (1992-1994), at the Working Skills Centre in Toronto (1993-96), and at the North York Women's Shelter (1996-1997). She was a member of the Employment Equity Committee and the Employment Committee for the Coalition of Visible Minority Women (1993-94).

Dianne Pothier

Professor Pothier is an Associate Professor, Dalhousie Law School, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has been teaching at this institution since 1986. She received her LL.B from Dalhousie Law School in 1982, an M.A. in Political Science from Carleton University in 1978 and a B.A. in Political Science from Dalhousie University in 1975. In 1983, she was a law clerk for Justice Brian Dickson of the Supreme Court of Canada. From 1984-86, she was legal counsel at the Canada Labour Relations Board. Her research interests include gender, disability issues, the law and their intersections. She has published extensively in these areas and has made numerous public presentations across Canada. She is a member of the Canadian Association of Visually Impaired Lawyers, DAWN Canada (DisAbled Women's Network), the Canadian Association of Law Teachers and has been a member of various LEAF (Women's Legal Education and Action Fund) committees and subcommittees.