Key Projects
TAKING A STAND
Our work covers an ever-expanding number of issues and projects to further equality in the legal profession. Key initiatives include:
There is a growing recognition in law firms that making diversity and inclusion key parts of their strategic plan means an advantage in accessing a broader talent pool of articling students and new lawyers. Diversity makes good economic sense. Measurement is a key component of many successful diversity initiatives and many law firms have begun to assess their firm’s current diversity performance, or contemplate doing so. Our Measuring Diversity in Law Firms Guide will help law firms looking for ways to access their diversity performance.
Work-life issues are a top concern CBA members have identified. A growing body of research shows that work-life concerns are often linked to diversity, equality and specifically the attrition of women from the legal profession. Our Work-Life Balance Resources provides information and resources, including inspirational profiles of lawyers surmounting systemic barriers to their continued success.
The Retention, Advancement and Re-Entry (RARE) project supports lawyers and law firms striving to overcome and remove barriers of equality. The RARE project provides success stories and resources for members and member firms trying to surmount barriers to equality and transform the legal profession. Read the profiles of exceptional CBA members who met the challenge. We welcome your suggestions to feature new CBA members as “rare finds” on the site. Contact Rebecca Bromwich at rebeccab@cba.org.
With guidance from the Equality Committee, the CBA has instituted self-identification questions to all members on annual membership renewals. This will afford us a much better understanding of the demographic make-up of our membership. Knowing the composition of our membership will help ensure we remain relevant and fulfill member needs. Over time, the data will also allow us to measure the success of our diversity and inclusion efforts. With similar initiatives at various law societies across the country, we will be able to compare our membership to that of the legal profession as a whole. Count me in.
Advocacy
On an ongoing basis we advocate for equality in the legal profession through our many submissions, resolutions and court interventions. For example, the CBA successfully advocated for institution of Employment Insurance (EI) maternity and parental benefits for self-employed individuals. The CBA’s Equality Committee, Women Lawyers Forum and Young Lawyers are collaborating on renewed advocacy to help make the EI system more fair. See the CBA submission, Improving EI Benefits by Enhancing Flexibility in the System.