Workshop #6: Individual and collective resistance strategies of female doctoral students to power dynamics at the university, in particular in supervisory relationships

When: Friday, March 13, 2026 — 15:30–17:00
Room: C.505 — Aimé Quintal
Workshop facilitator(s): Margaux Maurel & Isabelle Roberge-Maltais
Language of the workshop: French and English
Maximum capacity: 10

Description

Important Note: The workshop is for female PhD students only.

The workshop is part of our project “Individual and collective resistance strategies of female doctoral students facing power dynamics at university, particularly in supervisory relationships.”

The scientific literature establishes the central role of the supervisory relationship in the doctoral journey, the existence of multi-level power dynamics, and the wide variety of power structures (status, field, department, humanities/pure sciences) and forms of oppression (sexism, racism, ableism, etc.) within universities (Bastalich, 2017; Carter et al., 2017; Denis, 2020; Denis et al., 2018; Deuchar, 2008). Our project takes an agentive perspective focused on female doctoral students and their strategies for resisting oppression and power dynamics.

We agree with authors who consider the doctoral program in general, and the supervisory relationship in particular, to be a space of relational and gendered power (and therefore not neutral) (Denis et al., 2018; Yoder, 2018). Indeed, it has been shown that doctoral supervision is not only academic and administrative guidance, but also a dynamic space where power relations linked to gender, race, class, age, immigration status, and parenthood are replayed and crystallized, mirroring the academic environment in which it takes place (Hattery et al., 2022; O'Connor et al., 2011; Ylijoki, 2022; Yoder, 2018). To do so, we adopt a reflexive and horizontal stance, embracing our situated subjectivity and our positionalities as white, French-speaking women doctoral students at a Quebec university.

We conducted a first round of interviews (lasting between 1 and 3 hours) that allowed us to explore several avenues and better situate our research. We also presented our research at the last ACFAS conference, in addition to promoting its content to the Pôle Arpège (HEC's pedagogy center) and in the creation of a TELUQ teaching module.

This workshop would be the first focus group. Held after two rounds of interviews, it would aim to refine our preliminary results and obtain “fresh” feedback on the themes identified so far. Focus groups are also extremely valuable because of the collective discussions, sharing of experiences, and brainstorming that they generate.