Grant: Foundation Grant

Despite progress towards gender equity in the last decades, age-old patriarchal structures and attitudes that promote male dominance are still the norm in many countries. Canada increasingly receives large numbers of immigrants and refugees from countries where the status of women is lower than that of men. Gender inequities manifest in various health disadvantages for girls and women over the life span across the world. These include female-selective abortions, excess child mortality for girls, poorer quantity and quality of healthcare, dating and intimate partner violence, and fewer opportunities to achieve their full potential compared to males. However, little is known about whether such patterns persist among immigrants settling in Canada and how their health, development and wellbeing are affected. To fill these critical knowledge gaps we will use state-of-the-art methods to analyze rich information obtained by linking multisectoral databases encompassing all immigrants arrived to Manitoba and Ontario in the last three decades and their offspring born in Canada. This research program will generate valuable information to assist with a healthier integration of immigrants to the Canadian society and help advance gender equity initiatives in Canada and beyond. This research program brings together a multidisciplinary and interprofessional team of researchers, government and immigrant community partners who will collaborate to ensure that the research findings translate into improved programs, policies and services for the benefit of children, women and families in the affected minorities and in the population at large.