Rosheeka Parahoo

I’m a researcher specializing in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Canadian industries, and hold a PhD in Musicology from Western University. My dissertation examines how Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion operate within the Canadian music industry across three levels (individual experiences, organizational practices, and regulatory frameworks), and analyzes how these dynamics shape broader questions of Canadian identity through music, industry structures, and policy.

Outside of academia, I bring my EDI expertise to the not-for-profit and corporate world in Canada. I’ve authored major research reports and contributed thought leadership pieces on EDI to publications like Canadian Business and The Future Economy.

I’m also engaged in the music landscape in Canada and internationally. I served as a board member for the International Feminist Theory and Music Conference and am an active member of the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Decolonization Taskforce at the Don Wright Faculty of Music. I also contributed to the Committee on Race, Indigeneity, and Ethnicity within the American Musicological Society and have had the honour of serving as a jury member for the Polaris Music Prize. I currently serve as a research working group member at MassCulture.

I hold a BA in Music from the University of Guelph, an MA in Musicology from Western University focused on queer performance in popular music, and a certificate in Applied DEI Strategies from Brown University.