Nicole Bernhardt

Nicole Bernhardt is an Assistant Professor in Political Science at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Nicole’s research program assesses the promise of human rights policy for combating social inequalities and advancing anti-racism, and addresses the question: how can the institutional powers built into the Canadian human rights system be mobilized to respond to problems of social inequality? She received her PhD in Politics from York University for which she was awarded the Abella Scholarship for Studies in Equity. Nicole has worked as a policy advisor for the Anti-Racism Directorate and as a human rights officer for the Ontario Human Rights Commission. Her work has appeared in the Canadian Journal of Political Science, Economic and Industrial Democracy, Teaching in Higher Education and edited collections published by UBC Press and University of Alberta Press. Nicole teaches courses on Canadian government, human rights and public policy, and currently serves on the executive for the Black Canadian Studies Association.