Q&A with PhD Candidate Angel Henchey

Angel Henchey is a PhD candidate in Management whose research is driven by an interest in careers and equity, diversity, and inclusion, with current projects focused on helping individuals make successful career choices.

What motivated you to pursue a PhD, and why did you choose the Sprott School of Business?

Graduate studies were not originally part of my plan. During my final semester of undergraduate studies, I was invited to join a research project on the women who worked on Canada’s Alouette satellites in the 1960s. That experience opened my eyes to academic research and led me to pursue a master’s degree, which I enjoyed so much that continuing to a PhD felt natural.

When I started exploring doctoral programs, I was advised not to complete all my degrees at the same institution. That led me to Carleton, where I discovered Professor Linda Schweitzer’s research. Having a supervisor whose work inspired me was a significant factor in my decision to join Sprott.

How has your experience in the program evolved since you started?

The biggest change has been my confidence. Over the past three years, I have grown more secure in my role as a researcher and clearer about the kind of contributions I want to make.

What have been some of the most valuable learning experiences during your PhD so far?

I have learned the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people. Research thrives on collaboration, and different perspectives can shape your work in ways you cannot achieve alone. A strong personal support system is also essential. It is easy to become fully absorbed in your work, but balance makes you more resilient. For me, that balance comes from spending time with loved ones and wall climbing.

Can you tell us about your current Mitacs-funded research project and what inspired it?

My Mitacs project is with Engineers Yukon. They recently added caregiving as an activity that can count toward Continuing Professional Development hours. Traditionally, these have focused on technical work, but they wanted to recognize transferable skills from caregiving, such as communication and problem-solving.

My role is to evaluate the impact of this initiative through a national study exploring the connection between caregiving skills and engineering practice. Our goal is to provide evidence that caregiving cultivates skills that benefit both employees and organizations.

What real-world problems or gaps is your research aiming to address?

The project connects to Engineers Canada’s 30 by 30 initiative, which aims to increase the proportion of newly licensed women engineers to 30 percent by the year 2030. One of the barriers for women in engineering is that they often take on more caregiving responsibilities at home. By allowing caregiving to count toward professional development requirements, the profession becomes more inclusive and supportive.

By reframing caregiving as legitimate and valuable work, we challenge assumptions about what constitutes professional development and address a critical equity issue in the workplace.

How has this experience shaped your goals for the future?

This experience has reinforced my commitment to academia. I want to become a professor because I enjoy research, and supporting students has been incredibly rewarding.

Alongside the Mitacs project, I am pursuing my thesis on sustainable performance by examining how employees can balance productivity, health, and happiness. I presented this work at the Academy of Management conference in Copenhagen. I am also collaborating on a project exploring care communities that form after a sudden death, which received the Best Paper for Writing Differently award. Each of these projects allows me to explore different themes of care, careers, performance, and well-being, which I plan to continue building my career around.