Ashna Jassi: Bridging the gender gap in Canadian South Asian research

Growing up in a Canadian Punjabi community, Ashna Jassi was quickly exposed to differences in expectations for sons and daughters within South Asian households including expectations around elderly care. Being attentive to these differences would prove to be more than fruitful for Ashna, a second-generation Punjabi Canadian, as it would guide her PhD research and dissertation focus at the University of Guelph.

After obtaining her BSc (Honours) in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, and MSc in Social and Cultural Psychology from the London School of Economics, Ashna began her PhD in Applied Social Psychology at the University of Guelph, with a focus on cultural psychology, immigration, and gender. Despite being one of the largest immigrant groups in Canada, Ashna noticed that there was not a lot of research being done with Punjabi (and, more broadly, South Asian) communities within the Canadian academic landscape especially related to gender, family roles, and elderly care.

“Within traditional Punjabi family values, sons are typically expected to handle the majority of elderly care for their own parents, while daughters are typically expected to support in elderly care of their parents-in-law,” she says. “My parents have no sons, so I was very aware of what this could mean for my family. This made me curious to research this further.”

Ashna’s research revealed that contrary to popular expectations, Canadian Punjabi daughters were indeed involved in caring for their elderly parents. At the same time, elderly parents seem to rely on sons more so than on daughters to support them with transitioning to Canada. Ashna argues that further supports and resources are needed for Canadian Punjabi seniors in transitioning to Canada and navigating Canadian society. These supports will help seniors foster independence and likely reduce gendered expectations around elderly care.

Ashna moved to Guelph in 2015, and she has noticed the increasing diversity within the city and the University of Guelph over the years. Alongside her PhD and various campus and community organization commitments, Ashna is also an active founding member of CIRCLE, which she believes is a vital catalyst to further diversity, inclusion, and community engagement in Guelph. According to Ashna, CIRCLE’s role in engaging communities is essential to advancing South Asian and Canadian social issues further.

“CIRCLE is a ground-breaking centre that brings together Canadian and South Asian academics, community-based organizations, and wider communities to share knowledge and discuss social issues together,” she says.

Looking forward, Ashna definitely notices some positive trends regarding attention and discussion around Canadian South Asian topics. Movies, and television shows, such as Mindy Kaling’s Never Have I Ever, starring Mississauga’s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, show a more diverse and varied South Asian representation. More broadly, she notes positive conversations around Canadian South Asian gender issues, as well as South Asian Canadian alliances with different marginalized identity groups in Canada. However, Ashna strongly believes there is a need for further growth in attention, conversations, and research on these topics.

She encourages students, and others who are interested, to reach out and learn more about India, South Asia, the South Asian diaspora, and the opportunities that are available with CIRCLE.

Ashna Jassi successfully defended her PhD and convocated in October 2022. Dr. Jassi is currently a senior EDI data analyst at SickKids Hospital in Toronto.

Liaba Nisar, a student writer for CIRCLE, is in her fourth year, completing a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Guelph.