Leadership, Culture & Society

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A man in blurred silhouette next to a sign that read 'Voting Place.'

Analysis: Canada’s three main federal political parties are working together to fight voter privacy rights

Canada’s three main political parties — the Liberals, Conservatives and NDP — have banded together to avoid privacy laws aimed at protecting voter data, writes expert Sara Bannerman.
head and shoulders image of smiling Victor Kuperman

Linguistics professor Victor Kuperman awarded a 2026 Killam Fellowship 

Kuperman’s research project will focus on using AI to improve adult literacy, especially for newcomers to Canada.
From left: Jana Radosavljevic, Ebonee Lennord, and Zeinab Hosseinidoust

How McMaster research supports gender equity

From tackling systemic barriers in health care to developing real-world solutions to everyday needs, here are some of the ways researchers at McMaster are driving change around the world.

Analysis: Behind women’s success is a sisterhood that sustains it

Female friendships are social and psychological infrastructure that shape health, resilience and achievement, writes Maha Khawaja.
A woman sitting on the floor using her laptop.

Analysis: Why people are turning to AI first for relationship advice — and why they shouldn’t

The speed and structure of AI relationship advice often consolidates one narrative and trains us for unrealistic expectations, shaping how we interpret conflict and intimacy, writes expert Maha Khawaja.
A women in a T shirt and jeans looks at her phone while sitting on a couch in a room near a window.

Unfollow your ex: McMaster study reveals how social media stalls breakup recovery

Science confirms: Limiting how much you see of an ex on social media can help you get over them and move on with your life.

Analysis: The seductive simplicity — and danger — of pop psychology’s ‘love languages’

‘Love languages’ are a popular but misleading framework that oversimplify how relationships work and can even obscure the real conditions that sustain intimacy, writes expert Maha Khawaja.
Illustration showing the torso of a person in a shirt and tie, holding a cellphone, with a graphic overlaid showing a text prompt to generate an AI image.

AI-generated nude deepfakes are part of a larger system of gender-based digital harms, expert warns

Easily created deepfakes using tools like Grok are the latest in a long line of digital harms targeting women and gender-diverse people, Alexis-Carlota Cochrane explains.
Picketing workers on Parliament Hill with the Peace Tower in the background.

Analysis: What Canada’s public sector voting divide could mean for future elections

New research suggests the government’s intention to reduce the size of the federal public service could very likely drive some Liberal voters back to the NDP in the next federal election, writes expert Peter Graefe.
An aerial view from directly above the baseball diamond at an MLB Blue Jays game.

How AI is rewiring sports betting

Sash Vaid and Audrey Zhu from the DeGroote School of Business explain how technology and artificial intelligence are changing the rules of gambling, and how regulators — and gamblers — can mitigate the risks.
The front of Hamilton Hall seen on a sunny day in the summer.

Call for participants for study to improve accessibility in heritage buildings

McMaster students, staff, faculty, and members of the public who self-identify as a person with a disability can participate in the study by sharing their experiences navigating Hamilton Hall and University Hall.
A dark-skinned doctor in a lab coat, holding a stethescope. Their face is cut off above the chin in the photo.

Researchers discover why doctors who are women, racialized or immigrants face a pay gap 

Patients form expectations based on their own identity as well as that of the doctor, and doctors often adjust their behaviour accordingly and take more time with them, leading to a loss of income.