Gender equality and analysis in development of EV technology
Two funded PhDs positions within the Individualized Program (INDI)
Last updated: July 14, 2025, 1:24 p.m.
Supervisory details
Supervisor: Tanja Tajmel
Department: Centre for Engineering and Society
University: Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Start date: Flexible (Fall 2025 preferred)
PhD Fellowship: 35K CAD per year for 4 years
Role description
The PhD research will examine how the development and deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) contribute to Sustainable Development Goals SDG 5 (Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment) and its connections to other SDGs.
Theme 1: Gender equality in access and participation of the benefits of EV technology: To what extent do EVs advance intersectional gender equality in mobility, employment, manufacturing?
Tasks will include:
- Policy research to assess how EV policies respond to SDG 5
- Intersectional barrier analysis to understand specific barriers for women and non-binary individuals in the EV industry
- Research of industry efforts to promote gender equality in the workforce and develop indicators and metrics for gender equality in participation in the EV sector
Theme 2: Gender analysis as paradigm in research and development of EV technology: How are gender and other intersecting categories considered in EV research and design?
Tasks will include:
- Discourse analysis of the public and scientific discourse of EV
- Feminist ethnography of EV labs to examine gender in EV research and development
We are seeking excellent candidates with qualifications in:
- Science and Technology Studies (STS), sociology of technology, gender studies of technologies, or related fields
- Familiarity with and interest in feminist studies of engineering cultures and in analyzing the gender of technologies.
- Knowledge and interest in studying the impact of technologies on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Candidates are requested to provide evidence for qualifications in form of thesis, publications, and other scholarly work.
If you are already in Canada, or if you’re a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident, please highlight this in your communications.
Step 1
Interested candidates should combine the following documents into a single PDF file.
- Motivation letter (must highlight the qualifications related to the research proposal)
- Research project proposal (2 page; the proposal must address one of the two research themes)
- Curriculum Vitae
- Transcripts
Send your PDF file to Tanja Tajmel at tanja.tajmel@concordia.ca.
Step 2
Present a formal application to the Individualized PhD Program (INDI) at Concordia University.
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.
Questions/contact
For all questions, please contact Alisa Makusheva at alisa.makusheva@concordia.ca.
