Irene Shankar

Irene Shankar is a Professor of Sociology at Mount Royal University (MRU), affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and the Department of Sociology & Anthropology. She serves as Program Coordinator for the Sociology discipline (2024–2026) and previously held leadership roles in the Canadian Sociological Association (2021–2024). Her research focuses on gender studies, sexualized violence in education, policy analysis, and intersectionality. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Alberta (2011), supported by a CIHR Qualitative Health Research Fellowship.

Shankar’s awards include the MRFA EDI Award (2023) and the Distinguished Faculty Award (2016). Her grants include SSHRC-funded projects on sexualized violence in academia (#MeTooAcademia, 2019) and socio-linguistic barriers to dementia services (2025). She has published widely on feminist governance, carceral policies, and health equity, often collaborating with scholars like Dr. Corinne Mason and Dr. Celeste Pang.

Her work bridges academic research and institutional accountability, addressing systemic inequities in post-secondary policies and marginalized communities’ experiences. Shankar actively contributes to decolonization and EDI initiatives within MRU and national sociology associations.