Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) including depression and anxiety experienced during pregnancy and up to one year after birth are among the leading causes of maternal illness worldwide. Despite growing awareness of mental health in the workplace, reproductive mental health has remained a largely invisible issue for employers and policymakers alike.
This is why Professor Jennifer Dimoff has been awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant for her research project titled “Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) and employment: The intersection between work, reproductive mental health, and gender.”
About the project
Guided by bioecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), social identity theory (Eagly, 1987) and the job demands-resources model (Demerouti et al., 2001), the project brings together occupational health psychology, management science and reproductive health research. It will look at how organizational policies, workplace culture and gender norms shape both the development of PMADs and the career trajectories of affected employees.
Although PMADs are widespread, the workplace has been slow to catch up. Research shows that 95% of Canadian employers lack mental health resources tailored to workers facing reproductive health challenges including pregnancy, pregnancy loss, fertility treatments and postpartum recovery (Maven, 2024). This leaves employees, particularly women but also partners of any gender, vulnerable to untreated mental illness, career disruptions and workplace discrimination.
The project combines policy analysis, interviews, a national longitudinal survey and the development of workplace tools and training to better understand and support employees.
Why this research matters
Canada is having a national conversation about perinatal mental health: new clinical guidelines on PMADs were released in 2025 and the country saw broad support for perinatal mental health legislation, a milestone not achieved in over four decades (e.g., Bill 204 in British Columbia) (The CBC, 2025; Vigod et al., 2025). Yet the workplace dimension of this issue has received almost no systematic attention.
This research fills that gap both inside and outside academia. For scholars, it will generate theoretical insights into how gender, stigma and organizational context intersect to shape mental health outcomes. For practitioners, it will produce concrete, accessible tools: a publicly available policy toolkit, training resources for managers and HR professionals, and guidance for unions and policymakers.
Ultimately, the project aims to ensure that employees don’t have to choose between their mental health and their careers when they are most vulnerable. By equipping organizations with knowledge and resources, this research could reduce PMAD-related stigma, strengthen workforce participation among gestational carriers and partners, and set a standard for what inclusive, health-supportive workplaces can look like in Canada.
