Tier II Canada Research Chair in Care Work, Ethnicity, Race and Aging
Professor, Political Studies
Research interests: caregiving, arts-based research, community-based participatory research, policy and immigration
Professor Bharati Sethi, Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Care Work, Ethnicity, Race and Aging, will be conducting research on the well-being of immigrant health-care workers, and in particular paid personal support workers (PSWs). Prof. Sethi will be studying communities in Peterborough and Brantford-Brant Counties to determine how best to support newcomers in suburban and rural communities. Though her work will be used to inform health-care policy, she is dedicated to making her research available in formats that are easy to understand and can be used to educate the public on issues faced by immigrants and racialized workers.
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted personal care workers as the backbone of the care systems, but it also highlighted the invisibility of public policy. The work of caregivers is very precarious, undervalued and underpaid and very physically and mentally demanding. The experiences of caregivers is not well studied, and increasingly, immigrants are providing care work. For my study, I am looking at, from care workers’ perspectives, what is the lived experience around intersecting identities, specifically gender, race, and immigration status."
Inspiring students
Prof. Sethi is looking forward to mentoring students interested in exploring how factors such as immigration status, race, socio-economic status, geographical location, sexual orientation and other diversity identities influence the well-being of newcomers to Canada. She is also hoping to inspire students to explore interdisciplinary approaches to mobilizing cultural knowledge through arts-based methods.