Law Times

Law Times ��� March 4, 2013 Page 5 NEWS Diversity in law still a struggle BY YAMRI TADDESE Law Times M ichelle Douglas remembers once being attached to a polygraph at work, a last resort her Canadian military employers said they had to turn to if they were to trust her. ���All right, I give up. I���m gay,��� she recalled saying at last. That was some 20 years ago, when Douglas, then a military officer, got fired for failing to be ���advantageously employed due to homosexuality.��� Douglas fought her dismissal, and with help of lawyer Clayton Ruby, achieved a settlement that saw the Canadian military stop its ban on employing gays and lesbians. Douglas��� portrait hangs in the hallway of the third floor of the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, where she recently spoke about workplace diversity at an event hosted jointly with the Canadian Bar Association. Much has changed since the 1980s, but ensuring diversity remains something many employers grapple with. It���s an evolving part of the human rights legislation, which some lawyers say adds to the difficulty of getting it right. In the legal profession, diversity is a real and unresolved challenge. The profession loses a significant number of women each year, often due to childcare responsibilities. Ryerson University���s 2011 DiverseCity Counts report also shows that for minorities, ���barriers to entry persist in law firms.��� The effects of poor law firm diversity reverberate into other aspects of the profession, according to the study. ���Partners, in turn, influence selection processes for articling students, hiring practices, and the tone and culture of firms. In short, a lack of advancement in private firms has a long-term impact on the employment, monetary recognition, and advancement of future leaders within the sector.��� Most of Canada���s largest law firms tout their diversity mandates. Recently, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP announced it has been named one of Canada���s best diversity employers for 2013. ���We take great pride in our culture of diversity and we are committed to maintaining an inclusive environment that supports our employees��� individual beliefs, challenges, and lifestyles,��� said the firm. Last month, McCarthy T��trault LLP touted itself as the first Canadian law firm to appoint a ���chief diversity and engagement officer,��� something it sees as wholly different from ���diversity director.��� Lisa Vogt, a partner and equity lawyer at its Vancouver office, has taken on the role. ���For us, the distinction was really important because it���s showing commitment from the top,��� she tells Law Times. ���We are owning that leadership instead of just supporting the idea of diversity. We took that role and put an equity partner in there to show that we do have that commitment.��� The job will include overseeing all diversity efforts, including leadership programs for women partners, says Vogt, who adds she isn���t oblivious to the sometimesfrustrating nature of the job. Many law firms are experiencing ���diversity fatigue��� and despite much effort to have a more diverse workplace, many are simply not seeing the results. Vogt says McCarthys��� parental leave program, for example, is considered a gold standard. ���Even with all of that in place, we have more women who say, ���Thank you, love that, but for 10 to 15 years, I want a nine-to-five job.��� And law is not a nine-to-five job,��� she says. ���It���s frustrating because we can���t control societal norms. It is still easier for women to step back from their careers. There is no simple solution.��� Part of Vogt���s new job will be to ensure flexibility is in place so women can continue to practise after childbirth. In recent decisions, the Human Rights Tribunal has made clear employers have a duty to accommodate the needs of their employees in terms of childcare. Legislation on workplace accommodation varies from province to province, said Ryan Edmonds, an associate at Heenan Blaikie LLP who is also on the executive of the Ontario Bar Association���s sexual orientation and gender identity committee. ���For large federal employers who have offices all across Canada, you can���t have a one-size-fitsall approach to this sort of thing and that���s what���s reflected in some of the recent cases that have come up,��� he said during a panel discussion with Douglas and Ron Puccini, TD Bank Group���s senior manger of corporate diversity. ���Duty to accommodate is a multiparty responsibility,��� said Edmonds. But ���accommodation doesn���t have to be perfect. It just has to be reasonable.��� In 2008, Diane LaCalamita, a former partner with McCarthys, launched a $12-million lawsuit against the firm on grounds of sexual discrimination. She claimed she watched less experienced male colleagues get promotions as she remained in the same position. (Vogt denies the case is about sexual discrimination, calling it rather a matter of ���someone who is not happy about failing to advance.���) Perhaps the most important thing employers need to avoid are ���knee-jerk reactions��� when an employee requests accommodation, said Edmonds. ���Most cases that have come up show that employers didn���t think they had any duty to accommodate,��� he said, adding that employers must be willing to have the talk and seriously consider options. A new ground in the human rights legislation, gender identity, ���has really been a wakeup call for a lot of employers and that this is an important issue,��� said Edmonds. Prior to Dec. 22, ���believe it or not,��� gender identity was only covered under sex or disability grounds. ���I recommend to clients that you should have a gender transition policy in your workplace whether or not you have transgendered employees. You need to have the policies in place and people need to know what to do.��� Puccini said it���s important that diversity policies and mandates ���are not only symbolic but it���s actually what we do.��� ���It���s not just about, ���Here���s our diversity brochure, read this,������ he said. ���We see diversity and inclusion as a business strategy. What I mean by that isn���t so much as the business strategy of counting revenue but it is really about how we are set up to treat diversity no different than any other business strategy.��� LT Now Accepting Applications for Classes Starting in September 2013 September 2012 for Part-time, Executive LLM program for corporate counsel and practising lawyers Information Session Wednesday, December 7, 2011 5:30 - 7:00 pm Thursday, March 7th, 5:30 to 7:00pm Friday, December 9, 2011 8:00 - 9:30 am U of T Faculty of Law, Faculty Lounge 78 Queen���s Park, Toronto No registration required. Please feel free to drop in anytime during these hours. Taught by U of T Faculty of Law professors, together with top Taught by U of T Faculty of Law professors, together with international faculty from INSEAD Business School, top international faculty from MIT-Sloan School of Management and expert practitioners. NYU School of Law, and Rotman School of Management. For more information and to apply: http://www.law.utoronto.ca/programs/GPLLM.html Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) - Ontario Chapter and in partnership with Carswell, a Thomson Reuters business. GLLM_LT_Mar4_13.indd 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 13-02-25 12:19 PM

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