Lang graduate student presents research at international leadership conference
Lang graduate student Afra Mehwish travelled to Santa Cruz, California last month to present a research paper at the International Leadership Association’s Women and Leadership conference.
Mehwish, a candidate in Lang’s MA Management program, attended the conference with advisor and co-author Elizabeth Kurucz to present their paper on the workplace experiences of menstruation and its impact on the advancement of women in the workplace.
Their research aims to identify the challenges associated with gender equality and empowerment in the workplace and contribute to better understanding human capital differences in leadership. It explores how the workplace experiences of women and menstruation can affect their advancement in an organization.
“I am so grateful for my advisor, Dr. Elizabeth Kurucz, for encouraging me to present my research at this international academic conference,” said Mehwish. “Without her support, I would not have been able to connect with researchers from all over the world studying the same research topic and continue dialogue among organizational leaders on how they can prioritize the wellbeing of women in the workplace.”
Mehwish hopes her research will provide meaningful dialogue at the individual, organizational and societal levels.
“At the individual level, this research can transform the lives of working women in Canada with the ultimate aim of impacting policy decisions at the federal level,” she said. “This research can help organizations understand how they can prioritize the wellbeing of women in the workplace, and ultimately spark the much-needed dialogue at the societal level around a topic that is often considered taboo.”
The Women and Leadership conference ran from June 16 to 19, hosted by the International Leadership Association (ILA). The conference featured several recognized international researchers, with a keynote by Caroline Kisia, the executive director of Action Africa Help International.
The ILA is an organization committed to advancing leadership knowledge and practice for a better world, by creating a trusted space for leadership learning and resources.
Afra Mehwish also recently presented her research at a university-wide graduate competition as one of two graduate students to represent the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics at the U of G Three-Minute Thesis competition.