Institutionalizing Inequalities in Canadian Universities: The Canada Research Chairs Program

To position Canada as a world leader in the "knowledge-based" economy, in 2000, the Canadian government established a multi-million-dollar initiative to appoint 2,000 scholars as Canada Research Chairs (CRC). Women are seriously underrepresented among CRC research "stars," and no data are kept for other equity groups. Eight women initiated a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission in 2003 in an attempt to remedy inequities, and a national discussion has ensued over excellence and equity. We provide a brief outline of the CRC Program and demonstrate how it perpetuates a narrow conception of innovation and excellence, which further institutionalizes inequalities for women and faculty members from other equity groups in Canadian universities. We describe the strategy of the human rights complaint and remedies negotiated in the settlement of 2006. We argue for a broader conceptualization and contextualization of "excellence," and for research not in the private, but the public good.