Bipasha Baruah

.Professor

Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies
Western Research Chair
Canada Research Chair in Global Women's Issues(2012-2022)
https://publish.uwo.ca/bbaruah/
Bipasha Baruah CV
Office:Lawson Hall 3244,Phone:519-661-2111 ext. 86316
Email:bbaruah@uwo.ca

Research

I specialize in interdisciplinary research at the intersections of economy, environment, and equity. The big question that all my research in one way or another aims to answer is how can we create economic security for everyone while also preventing further environmental breakdown and improving social equity and justice? I have two major research projects at the moment. One tries to understand how to ensure that a low-carbon economy or a green economy - in Canada and globally - will be more gender equitable and socially just than its fossil-fuel based predecessor. The other project tries to understand how we might address gender equality and social justice issues if we were to shrink rather than grow our economies. The two are obviously related: the first looks at social equity within the context of technological changes such as a transition to renewable energy, green construction, manufacturing, and low-carbon transportation. The second looks at social equity issues within a framework of intentionally shrinking economies or “degrowth,” rather than technological fixes such as green energy. 

Alongside my academic career, I have extensive non-academic professional research experience with aid agencies, intergovernmental organizations, development banks, NGOs, labour associations and think-tanks in Canada, USA, India, France, the Middle East and North Africa, and the Eastern Caribbean. 

Recent Publications

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles (Current and former graduate student co-authors' names are bolded and underlined)

Pienaah, C., Baruah, B. and I. Luginaah. 2024. Women’s perspectives on addressing the decline of Shea trees in Northern Ghana. GeoJournal. 89(9): 1-15.

Bandauko, E., Baruah, B. and G. Arku. 2023. Gender and appropriation of public  space  in  Harare’s  contested  central  city  area. Gender, Place and Culture. DOI: 10.1080/0966369X.2023.2294258

Najjar, D. and B. Baruah. 2023. “Even the goats feel the heat:” gender, livestock rearing, rangeland cultivation, and climate change adaptation in Tunisia. Climate and Development. DOI: 10.1080/17565529.2023.2253773

Baruah, B. and S. Biskupski-Mujanovic. 2023. Indigenous Women’s Employment in Natural Resource Industries in Canada. Women’s Studies International Forum 99: 102784.

Baada, J., B. Baruah and I. Luginaah. 2023. Limit(ation)s, sustainability, and the future of climate migration. Dialogues in Human Geography. DOI: 10.1177/20438206231177071

Baruah, B. and C. Gaudet. 2022. Creating and Optimizing Employment Opportunities for Women in the Clean Energy Sector in Canada. Journal of Canadian Studies 56(2): 240-270.

Ragetlie, R., D. Najjar and B. Baruah. 2021. Paying “Lip Service” to Gender Equality: The Hollow Implementation of Gender Mainstreaming in Jordan. Civil Society Review 5: 18-45.

Baada, J., Baruah, B., Sano, Y. & I. Luginaah. 2021. Mothers in a 'Strange Land': Migrant Women Farmers' Reproductive Health in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 32(2): 910-930.

Martel, A., Reilly-King, F. and B. Baruah. 2021. Next Generation of Knowledge Partnerships for Global Development. Introduction. Canadian Journal of Development Studies DOI: 10.1080/02255189.2021.1919065

Baruah, Bipasha and S. Biskupski-Mujanovic. 2021. Navigating sticky floors and glass ceilings: Barriers and opportunities for women’s employment in natural resources industries in Canada. Natural Resources Forum DOI: 10.1111/1477-8947.12216

Baada, J., Baruah, B. and I. Luginaah. 2020. Looming crisis – changing climatic conditions in Ghana’s breadbasket: the experiences of agrarian migrants. Development in Practice DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2020.1854184

Najjar, D., Baruah, B. and A. El Garhi. 2020. Gender and Asset Ownership in the Old and New Lands of Egypt. Feminist Economics, DOI: 10.1080/13545701.2020.1743877

Apsani, R., Baruah, B. and J.M. Shaw. 2019. “Just One of Many Donors:” Canada and Local Civil Society in Afghanistan. Canadian Foreign Policy Journal 25(3): 305-324.

Baada, J., B. Baruah and I. Luginaah. 2019. ‘What we were running from is what we’re facing again’: examining the paradox of migration as a livelihood improvement strategy among migrant women farmers in the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana. Migration and Development 8(3): 448-471.

Najjar, D., Baruah. B. & A. El Garhi. 2019. Women, irrigation and social norms in Egypt: ‘The more things change, the more they stay the same?’ Water Policy 21 (2): 291-309.

Book Chapters

Baruah, B. 2022. Gender Equality and Empowerment in the Social and Solidarity Economy. In Yi, I. etal (eds.) Encyclopedia of the Social and Solidarity Economy. Cheltenham and Northampton, MA. Edward Elgar Publishing Limited in partnership with United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE).

Baruah, B. and S. Biskupski-Mujanovic. 2021. Closing the Gender Gaps in Energy Sector Recruitment, Retention and Advancement. In Webb, J., Tingey, M. & F. Wade (eds.) Research Handbook on Energy and Society. Edinburgh, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 169-184.

Ferroukhi, R., López, C. & B. Baruah. 2021. Global Trends in Women’s Employment in Renewable Energy: Continuities, Disruptions, Contradictions. In Williams, A. & I. Luginaah (eds.) Gender Matters Globally: Geography, Health and Sustainability. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 56-78.

Najjar, D., Dhehibi, B., Baruah, B., Aw-Hassan, A. and A. Bentaibi. 2021. Climate-Induced Migration, Women, and Decision-Making Power in the Agricultural Wage Sector in Saiss, Morocco. In Eastin J. and K. Dupuy (eds.) Gender, Climate Change and Livelihoods: Vulnerabilities and Adaptations. Oxfordshire, UK: CAB International. 

Najjar. D. and B. Baruah. 2021. Gender and climate change adaptation in livestock production in Tunisia. In Eastin J. and K. Dupuy (eds.) Gender, Climate Change and Livelihoods: Vulnerabilities and Adaptations. Oxfordshire, UK: CAB International. 

Baruah, B. and S. Biskupski-Mujanovic. 2021. Gender Analysis of Policymaking in Construction and Transportation: Denial and Disruption in the Canadian Green Economy. In Magnusdottir G.L. & A. Kronsell (eds.) Gender, intersectionality and climate institutions in industrialised states. London and New York: Routledge.

Baruah, B. 2021. Women on Wheels in New Delhi, India: Can Social Innovation Promote Gender Equality? In Kim, E. & H. Miura (eds.) Social Economy in Asia: Realities and Perspectives. New York and London: Lexington Books. 

Masikini, N. and B. Baruah. 2020. Gender Equity in the “Sharing” Economy: Possibilities and Limitations. Saraswati, L.A., Shaw, B. and H. Rellihan (eds). Introduction to Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies: Interdisciplinary and Intersectional Approaches (2nd Edition). New York and London: Oxford University Press. 

Baruah, B. 2019. Sticky floors and glass ceilings: Women’s employment in the transport sector. In Crass, M. et al (eds.) Transport Connectivity: A Gender Perspective. Paris: OECD Publishing.

Other Peer-reviewed Publications

Saska, S. & B. Baruah. 2020. Bridging Social Innovation and Gender Equality: Possibilities and Pitfalls. Available at SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3572776

Saska, S. & B. Baruah. 2020. Social Innovation and Gender Equality: Bridging Two Solitudes. Available at SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3572738

Baruah, B. 2012. Informal Economy. In Warf, B. (ed.) Oxford Bibliographies in Geography. New York: Oxford University Press.

Baruah, B. 2010. Informal Economy. In Warf, B. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Geography Volume 3. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Baruah, B. 2010. Women and Landed Property in Urban India: Negotiating Closed Doors and Windows of Opportunity. Working Paper No. 2010/56. Helsinki, Finland: United Nations University-World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER).

Baruah, B. 2007. Women and Multiple Vulnerabilities: Opportunities and Constraints in Landed Property Ownership for Informal Sector Workers in Urban India. Peer-reviewed paper prepared for the international conference Living on the Margins: Vulnerability, social exclusion and the state in the informal economy, Cape Town, South Africa, March 26-28.

Baruah, B. 2004. Challenges and Opportunities in Land Ownership for Women in the Informal Sector in Urban Contemporary India. Working Paper No. 3 in Bose, P. (ed.) Ethics of Development-Induced Displacement. York University: Centre for Refugee Studies.

Professional Reports and Policy Briefs

Baruah, B. & D. Najjar. 2022. Gender Equality, Climate Change and Agriculture in the MENA region: Priorities and Possibilities: https://repo.mel.cgiar.org/handle/20.500.11766/67913 

Alam, M.M, Kurshitashvili, N., Gonzalez K.D. & B. Baruah. 2022. Is a Mile for One a Mile for All? A Knowledge Synthesis Report on Gender and Mobility (2000–20): https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/c7504ff7-515a-5646-bc79-76db8164c3fb 

Baruah, B. 2021. What does degrowth say about gender equality and social justice? https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/society-societe/community-communite/ifca-iac/evidence_briefs-donnees_probantes/earth_carrying_capacity-capacite_limite_terre/baruah-eng.aspx

Baruah, B. & A. Chaianong. 2019. Status Report on Gender Equality in the Energy Sector. Paris: International Energy Agency (IEA).

Baruah, B. 2019. Integrating Gender Equality in Large-Scale and Grid-Connected Renewable Energy Projects. Global Affairs Canada.

Baruah, B. 2019. Integrating Gender Equality into Small-Scale and Off-Grid Renewable Energy Projects. Global Affairs Canada.

Baruah, B. 2019. Case Study on Social Innovation and Gender Equality: Women on Wheels. Global Affairs Canada.

Ferroukhi, R., Renner, M., Nagpal, D., García-Baños, C. and B. Baruah. 2019. Renewable Energy: A Gender Perspective. Abu Dhabi: International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Najjar, D., Baruah, B., and A. El Garhi. 2019. Making Egyptian women’s agricultural labour visible and improving their access to productive assets. Rabat, Morocco: International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA).

Non-refereed Research Articles, Op-eds and Blog Posts

Baruah, B. 2023. Why should we care about gender equity and youth inclusion in clean energy? Institute of Development Studies CEDCA Blog. December 14.

Najjar, D. and B. Baruah. 2023. Research priorities to strengthen women's roles in climate-resilient agriculture in the Middle East and North Africa. ICARDA News. March 7. https://www.icarda.org/media/news/research-priorities-empower-women-agriculture

Najjar, D. and B. Baruah. 2021. Why supporting rangeland women could save Tunisia’s degraded ecosystems. ICARDA Blogs. October 14. https://www.icarda.org/media/blog/rangeland-women-why-supporting-them-could-save-tunisias-degraded-ecosystems

Baada, J., Baruah, B. and I. Luginaah. 2021. Climate change is affecting agrarian migrant livelihoods in Ghana. This is how. The Conversation, March 15.

Najjar, D. and B. Baruah. 2020. The vital contribution of women to livelihoods resilience during COVID 19. ICARDA. October 15.

Baruah, B. 2019. Addressing the diversity challenge in energy sector recruitment. Modern Diplomacy. July 5.

Najjar, D. and B. Baruah. 2019. Do agricultural innovations help or hurt the poor? ICARDA. March 8.

Conceptual Animation Videos and Media

Women Deliver 2023, July 19, 2023: Women’s economic empowerment and unpaid care work in the low-carbon transition https://idrc-crdi.ca/en/stories/advancing-southern-solutions-gender-equality

Women in Renewable Energy: https://vimeo.com/194718318

Why should Canadians care about gender equity in clean energy employment: https://vimeo.com/214883162

How to promote gender equity in green jobs: https://vimeo.com/258994937