Dr. Deborah Stienstra

Biography

Deborah Stienstra holds the Jarislowsky Chair in Families and Work at the University of Guelph and serves as the Director of the Live Work Well Research Centre. She is a Professor in the Department of Political Science. Her research publications explore the intersections of disabilities, gender, childhood, and Indigenousness, identifying barriers and possibilities for engagement and transformative change. Over the past fifteen years, she has led and co-led multiple community-engaged research partnerships. From 2010 to 2016, she co-led the FemNorthNet Feminist Northern Network, which examined the consequences of economic restructuring on diverse women and disabilities in Northern Canadian communities. This initiative was instrumental in supporting women’s engagement in decision-making processes about changes in their communities and amplifying their voices in discussions regarding planning. Currently, she leads the Engendering Disability-Inclusive Development – Genre, handicap et développement inclusive (EDID-GHDI) partnership, which collaborates with partners in Vietnam, Haiti, South Africa, and Canada to address the struggles of women and girls with disabilities in achieving disability rights and justice.

Research Interests