SHATTERING THE GLASS CEILING IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION: TEACHINGS FROM THE TOUCHSTONES TASK FORCE
On April 12, 2024, WLF hosted “Shattering the glass ceiling in the Legal Profession”. Over 200 participants tuned in to the webinar to hear original Touchstones authors, Patricia L. Blocksom K.C., AOE, the Honourable Justice Sophie Bourque and Daphne E. Dumont, K.C. share their insights into the making of the original Touchstones Report, and about tools to identify and dismantle the glass ceilings for women and members of equity deserving groups.
WLF thanks all participants and our amazing committee members for their hard work in putting together such a successful event! You can listen back to the recording here.
And while you’re at it, check out the Touchstones 30th Anniversary Podcast Mini-Series. Learn more about the context and history of this ground-breaking report on gender equality in the legal profession in these discussions between some of the original task force members, the lead author of the report and a diverse group of lawyers.
A link to the episodes can be found here.
ESSAY CONTEST
Submissions for Writing Them In, WLF’s annual essay contest have now closed. A number of amazing papers were received which our committee will be reviewing over the coming weeks. Watch this space!
IDENTITIES COMMITTEE AND TRAINING
In case you missed it, on November 2, 2023, the WLF Identities Committee hosted a hybrid session facilitated by Kate Moore of Vital Shift Consulting on how to make the WLF’s mandate and activities more inclusive, with a focus on gender inclusion. This was an important step in a journey that began in earnest in 2020 – with warm thanks to SAGDA for inspiring us to take this journey. We are very pleased to share the PowerPoint that Kate prepared, which may be useful for other sections and organizations to consider as they reflect and take action on inclusion.
This is just the beginning of the journey for the WLF. The next year will see the WLF implement what we have learned into our mandate and programming. Watch this space!
MADAM JUSTICE
The Madam Justice project is an online gallery presented by the Women Lawyers Forum (WLF) in collaboration with the Judges Section. The project is intended to celebrate diversity on the bench by showcasing advice and perspectives from judges across Canada. The project is ongoing and we will be adding to the gallery over time.
Check out the latest profiles here.
Thank you,
Women Lawyers Forum (WLF)