Ito Peng named as a recipient of the President's Impact Academy Laureate and the 2023 Carolyn Tuohy Impact on Public Policy Award
Ito Peng is a professor of sociology in the Faculty of Arts & Science and the Munk School for Global Affairs & Public Policy. She is an internationally acknowledged thought leader on the national and international care economy, issues of gender equality, care work, transnational care migration, and the multidimensional and interlocking dependencies between the Global North and South through the work of global care migration. Her research and policy recommendations have been used and included in reports by key global policy institutions, including Statistics Canada, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Women and Gender Equality Canada, the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Korean Women’s Development Institute, UN Women, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), the ILO, and OXFAM.
Peng, whose expertise has been sought out by policymakers across the globe, was also named the recipient of the Carolyn Tuohy Impact on Public Policy Award, presented annually to a faculty member whose scholarship has had a significant impact on public policy as part of the Awards of Excellence Program.
Winners of the President’s Impact Award are designated as members of the President’s Impact Academy, which advocates for sustained excellence in research and innovation impact within and outside of the university.
“These awards represent how U of T’s research community is coming together tackle some of today’s toughest problems and making breakthroughs that result in real-world change,” says Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.
“From global issues to micro-scale innovations, this year’s laureates have shown themselves to be visionaries in their respective fields and consummate collaborators – working with scholars across disciplines and partnering with community members, public stakeholders, industry leaders and policymakers to address our current challenges and drive progress toward a brighter future.”
In Canada, Peng was instrumental in developing a national conversation with Canadian women business leaders on the care economy, Women-to-Women, with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. Her work with Women-to-Women also involved consulting with the federal government and had an indelible impact on the 2019 federal budget bill that made investing in childcare an economic priority.
