2000 • Women's Health Research Award
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BEVERLEY CHALMERS



Beverley Chalmers has spent her adult life working to improve the health and welfare of women and children.

Beverley took both her doctorate and her senior doctorate from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, where she taught and conducted research for 22 years before moving to Canada.

Specializing in multi-cultural reproductive health issues, she has developed an expertise much in demand: she is an internationally renowned speaker with over 150 conference presentations and over 100 invited addresses to her credit. 

Beverley has also written three books examining both Caucasian women’s experiences during pregnancy and parenthood and African women’s experiences and their integration of traditional and modern approaches to perinatal care. 

These have been translated into a number of languages.  Beverley has also demonstrated a special interest in inter-disciplinary teaching and developed a graduate program in childbirth education and psychology.

Community work has always been an important part of Beverley’s life. She was the co-founder and national president of the Association for Childbirth and Parenthood of Southern Africa, a multi- disciplinary, multi-cultural professional association. 

Beverley has volunteered her time and energies to university senates, admissions and examinations committees, and the boards of faculties of arts and medicine.

" Since 1993, Beverley has been living in Toronto, associated with Women’s College Hospital and the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center.  She is also an associate professor with the University of Toronto in the departments of obstetrics and genecology, nursing and public health.  She maintains her international focus, serving as a consultant to such agencies as WHO, UNICEF and Mediciens sans frontieres in the countries of the former Soviet Union, primarily as an advisor on women’s reproductive health.

South African Women for Women is very pleased to honour Dr. Chalmers’ work and her commitment to improving the health of women and children in South Africa and abroad.