Sandy Welsh

Sandy Welsh is a Professor of Sociology and currently serves as the Vice-Provost, Students. She was the Vice-Dean, Graduate Education & Program Reviews in the Faculty of Arts & Science (2012-2015). She studies work & occupations, gender, sociology of law, and social policy.

Prof. Welsh’s primary research is centered on workplace and sexual harassment. Current research explores how changes in federal & provincial regulations affect the adoption and implementation of workplace harassment and work-family policies in Canadian corporations. Ongoing research collaborations focus on how the pending regulation of Homeopaths, Naturopaths & Traditional Chinese Medicine/Acupuncturists in Ontario is changing these occupational groups. Linking these research streams is her interest in the relationship between the legal environment, organizations, and employee behaviors. Her research has appeared in such journals as Gender & Society, Social Problems, Annual Review of Sociology, Sociology of Health & Illness, and Social Science & Medicine. With Dr. Tracey Adams, she co-authored The Organization and Experience of Work (2008, Nelson). She has received funding from SSHRC, CIHR, Status of Women Canada, and other foundations.

Dr. Welsh provides expert testimony on sexual harassment for the Ontario and Canadian Human Rights Commissions and in other legal forums. She is a past recipient of the University of Toronto Faculty of Arts & Science Outstanding Teaching Award.

Professor Welsh received her BA (high honours) from Oberlin College, MA from SUNY Buffalo, and Ph.D. from Indiana University-Bloomington. She joined the U of T faculty in 1994.