Biography
Dr. Berger has used her expertise to advise the Ontario Human Rights Commission, Statistics Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, the Forum of Labour Market Ministers, the National Seniors Council, and the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. She has also been retained as an expert witness in "ageism" by various legal professionals and is a member of numerous organizations including the Canadian Association on Gerontology, the Gerontological Society of America, the Canadian Sociological Association, Ontario Interdisciplinary Council for Aging and Health, Council of Ontario Universities, the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly, and the Canadian Coalition for Seniors’ Mental Health.
Positions
Education
Areas of Specialization:
Sociology of aging, work and health
Research Interests:
Aging workforce, ageism, workplace transitions, retirement and pensions, age and gender discrimination, gender and work history, work-family balance in academia
Current & Future Research:
Ageism at Work: Negotiating Age, Gender, and Identity in the Discriminating Workplace (book contract with University of Toronto Press).
The Parent Track: Timing, Balance, and Choice within Academia (edited book manuscript submitted with C. DeRoche).
Publications
Berger, E.D. & Hodgins, D. Age Discrimination and Paid Work. Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster, Policy Brief No. 7, March, 2012.http://sociology.uwo.ca/cluster/en/publications/docs/policy_briefs/Poli…
Berger, E.D. & Ricci, C. Exploited by Universities: Part-Time Workers as Victims. Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor, 18, 1-9, 2011.
Jaworski, B., Parker, O., Saba, T., Berger, E., & Baldwin, R. Challenges for Canada’s Retirement Income System: Summary Employer Pension and Savings Plan Survey Report. Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, July 18, 2011.
Berger, E.D. Book Review: Aging and Working in the New Economy: Changing Career Structures in Small IT Firms (2010, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.) Julie Ann McMullin and Victor Marshall's (eds.). Canadian Journal on Aging, 30(2), 304-306, 2011.
Berger, E.D. Managing Age Discrimination: An Examination of the Techniques Used When Seeking Employment. Gerontologist, 49(3), 317-332, 2009.
Berger, E.D. & Ricci, C. Part-Time Faculty as Victims-- Exploited by Universities: Markers, Teaching Assistants, and Sessionals. In C. Ricci, Poisoned Apples: An Insider Exposes the Victimization, Abuse, Politics, Associated Pain and SOLUTIONS to our Educational Crisis (pp. 82-93), 2007.
Berger, E.D., ‘Aging’ Identities: Degradation and Negotiation in the Search for Employment, Journal of Aging Studies, 20(4), 303-316, 2006.
McMullin, J.A. & Berger, E.D. Gendered Ageism / Age(ed) Sexism: The Case of Unemployed Older Workers. In T.M. Calasanti & K.F. Slevin (eds.), Age Matters: Re-Aligning Feminist Thinking (pp. 201-223). New York: Routledge, 2006.
Ricci, C. & Berger, E., Exams and the Learning Environment, Encounter: Education for Meaning and Social Justice, 18(2), 45-47, 2005.
Berger, E.D. & Denton, M.A., The Interplay Between Women’s Life Course Work Patterns and Financial Planning for Later Life, Canadian Journal on Aging, 23(suppl. 1), S99-S113, 2004.
Berger, E.D. Older Workers’ Experiences with Age Discrimination: The Degradation of Identity, in D. Pawluch, W. Shaffir, & C. Miall (eds.) Proceedings of the Second Annual Colloquium on Qualitative Research (pp. 73-84). Department of Sociology, McMaster University, 2000.
Joshi, A. & Berger, E. (eds.) Aging Workforce, Income Security, and Retirement: Policy and Practical Implications. Hamilton, Ont.: Office of Gerontological Studies, McMaster University, 1996.