Lauren Serianni’s research into barriers women face in obtaining leadership roles in unions has earned her the Canadian Association for Work and Labour Studies award for outstanding undergraduate scholarship.

Serianni, who graduated from Brock University this spring, is the second Brock student to receive the national award in the past two years.

Serianni’s winning paper, “Women Friendly Unions: Today and Tomorrow” examines various barriers for women obtaining leadership positions within unions and explores alternative solutions the traditional union structure can adapt to better accommodate the needs of female members.

“Being a Labour Studies student, I’ve learned to question everything about work and society. In my opinion, that was the greatest lesson that I learned over my four years at Brock. And so with this CAWLS award and my research, I was able take that lesson and apply it to a real-world issue and focus on creating social change,” she said.

Serianni will be starting her Law Degree at the University of Southampton in England in the fall to continue pursuing her dreams of improving the lives of working women.

In 2015, Nick Ruhloff-Queiruga accepted the undergraduate award for his paper, “A Tale of Two Cities: Niagara Falls, Las Vegas, and the Politics of Union Organizing in the Casino Gaming Sector.”

Labour Studies Associate Professor Kendra Coulter, who was awarded the CAWLS Book Prize last year, said “having back-to-back winners at the national scale is testament to the quality of the program and demonstrates what our faculty members already know – that Brock has some very thoughtful and committed students.”

Coulter said she was pleased to see her student win this award.

“Her winning paper combines thoughtful analysis, a commitment to social justice, and proactive solutions; all key facets of our approach to labour studies.”