Porn研究所

A passion for research fuelled at Porn研究所 led Sarah de Blois deep into the mines of Northern Ontario – and an issue that continues to run deep there.

In her pursuit of her PhD in Human Studies and Interdisciplinarity, Sarah has been working on her dissertation titled, Women, mining and gender: Experiences in Greater Sudbury. 

With the goal in mind to contribute to her community and better understand what it’s like to be a woman in mining, Sarah interviewed 24 women employed in Greater Sudbury’s mining industry about their direct work experiences, and 11 men employed in the industry about their experiences working with women. When undertaking this study, Sarah discovered that amongst the participants, there is a sentiment that the male-dominated mining industry may still be resistant toward women. 

“Right now, according to the most recent statistics we have from the Mining Industry Human Resources Council, only about 20% of workers within the Canadian mining labour force are women,” notes Sarah. “And they are predominantly in administrative roles rather than in what we refer to as ‘blue collar’ roles.”

“When they do enter, they still - to this day - experience marginalization, discrimination and harassment. This is not to say that women in mining don’t also encounter positive experiences in their jobs. Clearly, these gendered experiences are complex.”

Sarah’s long-standing interest in workplace communication, organizational communication and women and gender studies, combined with her husband being a hard rock miner in Sudbury, drew her to examine the industry. And she considers herself fortunate to be working under Laurentian’s Dr. Linda Ambrose.

“Dr. Ambrose has been with Laurentian for decades. She’s a true leader and a force to be reckoned with in all the right ways,” Sarah said about her faculty supervisor, Dr. Ambrose. “As a gender historian, she’s really guided me in this study about women in mining.”

More research is needed as there hasn’t been a large-scale study into the experiences of women in Sudbury’s mining industry since the 1970’s. And though there are many policies in place to help prevent harassment and violence, it still occurs – and women are hesitant to report it. 

“A lot of women – voluntarily – mentioned that they wouldn’t want their daughters working in the mining industry, especially underground. There’s a lot to be said for that,” she notes. 

Her research is also part of earning a PhD that may allow her to teach courses of her own at Laurentian. 

As a full-time Laurentian staff member (and part-time student), Sarah has previously had the opportunity to teach courses at the University in Communications Studies, on a sessional basis. 

“I loved teaching!” she said with a smile. “And when they told me I really needed a PhD for potential opportunities to teach at the University level in the future, I decided to go for it. And I’m almost done!”

While her PhD may represent a culmination of her own journey, Sarah hopes her research will shine a light on gender-imbalanced industries beyond mining… one that illuminates ways forward in addressing deep-rooted gender issues for all persons. 

Additional findings from Sarah’s study were recently published in the (see pages 52-53).

Sarah de Blois is a winner of the Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Master's Scholarship, 4x recipient of an Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2x winner of the Best Faculty of Arts Presentation at Laurentian, and this year’s 1st place and People’s Choice award recipient at the University’s 3 minute thesis (3MT) competition. Sarah’s full time employment as Laurentian’s Communications Officer also keeps her busy. Sarah has spoken at several Work and Labour conferences – and thanks her husband and family for their support during it all!