Trudeau Fellowships are awarded annually through a rigorous nomination process to highly accomplished Canadians who question society’s world views and teach the importance of responsible and engaged citizenship.

“Recognition by the Trudeau Foundation is a fantastic opportunity to further advance research in critical feminist political economy – something York is known for throughout the world,” Bakker said.  “I also hope that the award will facilitate a more democratic and open approach on the part of policy-makers who have been slow to recognize the importance of gender-based analyses of macroeconomic policies and of national budgets for the achievement of a more just society.

“This award is an important tip of the hat to York and to my home department of political science, both of which continue to foster world-class political economy and feminist research.”

Stan Shapson, vice-president, research & innovation at York agrees that the award places the University at the forefront of research into the social impact of global economic policies. “We are tremendously proud that Isabella Bakker has been awarded the coveted Trudeau Fellowship,” says Shapson. “This award attests to Professor Bakker’s excellence in research, and sets her apart as an eminent scholar in the field of gender-based economic policy development enriching the lives of women globally.”

Bakker is a leading authority in the fields of political economy, public finance, gender and development.  Throughout her career, her policy and advocacy work has been committed to the enhancement of democratic dialogue, equitable global social change and gender equality. She consistently explores and develops new national and international mechanisms to improve governance so as to promote the empowerment of women in an era of intensified globalization.

Her pioneering contributions in scholarly and advocacy work integrate public policy, economics, international studies and gender-based analysis have resulted in numerous articles and books, notably: The Strategic Silence: Gender and Economic Policy, Rethinking Restructuring: Gender and Change in Canada, Power, Production and Social Reproduction: Human In/security in the Global Political Economy, and most recently, Beyond States and Markets: The Challenges of Social Reproduction.

Bakker’s work was also recognized when she was named a Fulbright New Century Scholar in 2004.

The Trudeau Fellowships are distributed through the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation over a three-year period and include an award of $150,000, in addition to a $75,000 travel, research and dissemination allowance.

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as more than 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

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Media contact:

Killeen Kelly, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100 x22938 / killeenk@yorku.ca