Spotlight On: Rupa Banerjee

October 24, 2019 by CIRHR Communications

Graduated: 2008 
Thesis: Employment disadvantage of immigrants and visible minorities: evidence from three Canadian surveys 
Research areas: Immigrant employment and workplace diversity 
Now: Associate Professor of Human Resource Management and Organizational Behaviour, Ryerson University 
Links: Twitter

Rupa Banerjee’s primary research interest lies in the employment integration of new immigrants to Canada, and especially the institutional barriers facing new immigrants in the Canadian labour market. She is also interested in workplace diversity and ethno-racial discrimination, particularly as it applies to second-generation immigrants. 

Dr. Banerjee’s research has appeared in such journals as International Migration Review, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Journal of International Migration and Integration, Journal of Labor Research and Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations.  

Selected publications: 

Refereed Journal Articles 

  • Banerjee, R. and M. Phan. (2014). “Do ‘Tied-Movers’ Get Tied Down? The Labour Market Adjustment of Immigrant Women in Canada.”  Journal of International Migration and Integration, DOI 10.1007/s12134-014-0341-9. 
  • Reitz, J.G., M. Phan and R. Banerjee. (2014). “Religious Affiliations and Gender Inequality in Canada: A Study of Labour Market Effects.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, 10.1080/01419870.2014.901546 
  • Banerjee, R. and M. Phan. (2014). “Licensing Requirements and Occupational Mobility Among New Immigrants in Canada.” Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations, Vol. 69, No. 2, 290-315. 
  • Banerjee, R. and M. Phan. (2014). “Do ‘Tied-Movers’ Get Tied Down? The Labour Market Adjustment of Immigrant Women in Canada.”  Journal of International Migration and Integration, DOI 10.1007/s12134-014-0341-9. 
  • Reitz, J.G., M. Phan and R. Banerjee. (2014). “Religious Affiliations and Gender Inequality in Canada: A Study of Labour Market Effects.” Ethnic and Racial Studies, 10.1080/01419870.2014.901546 
  • Banerjee, R. and M. Phan. (2014). “Licensing Requirements and Occupational Mobility Among New Immigrants in Canada.” Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations, Vol. 69, No. 2, 290-315 

Book Chapters 

  • Reitz, J. G., & Banerjee, R. (2007). Racial inequality, social cohesion and policy issues in Canada. In Social inequality in Canada: dimensions of disadvantage. Don Mills, Ontario, Canada: Oxford University Press.  
  • Dion, K. L, K. K Dion & R. Banerjee. (2009). “Discrimination, Ethnic Group Belonging, and Well-Being.” In Reitz, J. G., R. Breton, K. K. Dion & K. L. Dion (Eds.) Multiculturalism and Social Cohesion: Potentials and Challenges of Diversity, Springer, 69-87. 

 A joint work with Ali Verma and Jeffrey Reitz, “Unionization and Income Growth of Racial Minority Immigrants in Canada: A Longitudinal Study” was featured in the Toronto Star, Wage gap for white/minority immigrants persists in union jobs.  

  • Verma, A., Reitz, J. G., & Banerjee, R. (2016). Unionization and Income Growth of Racial Minority Immigrants in Canada: A Longitudinal Study. International Migration Review, 50(3), 667–698. https://doi.org/10.1111/imre.12172  

Banerjee was a core team member at the Toronto Immigrant Employment Data Initiative (TIEDI) and, in January 25, 2017, co-authored a study of employment discrimination in Canada with Jeff Reitz and Phil Oreopoulos through the Robert F. Harney Professorship and Program in Ethnic, Immigration, and Pluralism Studies. “Do large organizations treat racial minorities more fairly?  A new analysis of Canadian field experiment data” was covered in a front page story in the Toronto Star, also featured on CBC News, and in Policy Options. 

The study looked at how likely job seekers with Asian names — including Indian, Pakistani and Chinese names — are to be called for interviews compared people with anglo-sounding names and nearly identical education and experience, and found that candidates with Asian-sounding names and Canadian qualifications received twenty to forty per cent fewer callbacks than those with anglo-sounding names, with higher chances of a person with an Asian-sounding name getting a call back at larger companies with more sophisticated HR resources. 

In an interview with Matt Galloway on CBC Radio's Metro Morning, Banerjee noted that "[Implicit bias is] something we all have within us, and we make these very quick unconscious decisions."  

Banerjee’s research has included collaborations with CIRHR faculty, including Professor Anil Verma, and alumni, including Byron Lee (CIRHR PhD 2011) and Tingting Zhang (PhD 2017).   

  • Verma, A., J.G. Reitz, and R. Banerjee. (forthcoming). “Unions, Race, Immigrants and Earnings: A Longitudinal Examination of the Effect of Union Membership on the Income Progression of Immigrants to Canada.” International Migration Review. 
  • Banerjee, R., Verma, A., & Zhang, T. (2019). Brain Gain or Brain Waste? Horizontal, Vertical, and Full Job-Education Mismatch and Wage Progression among Skilled Immigrant Men in Canada. International Migration Review, 53(3), 646–670. https://doi.org/10.1177/0197918318774501 
  • Banerjee, R. and B.Y. Lee. (2015). “Decreasing the Recent Immigrant Earnings Gap: The impact of Canadian Credential Attainment.” International Migration, Vol. 53, No. 2, 205-218. 
  • Banerjee, R. and Lee, B. Y. (2015), Decreasing the Recent Immigrant Earnings Gap: The Impact of Canadian Credential Attainment. Int Migr, 53: 205-218. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2435.2012.00775.x 

As a member of the Scientific Committee for ILERA 2020, Banerjee is one of several CIRHR alumni, including Johanna Weststar (PhD 2007), Maurice Mazerolle (PhD 1993) and Bob Hebdon (PhD 1992), working to bring this event to Toronto in June 2020.  

Before coming to the CIRHR, Rupa Banerjee earned both her BComm and BEd. She completed both her MIRHR and PhD at the Centre, where she received an Honorable Mention in the Labor and Employment Relations Association (LERA) Best Dissertation Competition. She started teaching at Ted Rogers Management School of Management at Ryerson University in 2008.  

 

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