On April 30, 2025, the Women Lawyers Forum of the Ontario Bar Association marked the 10th anniversary of its award-winning Pathways to Power program with a powerful celebration. Women lawyers from various backgrounds came together, both in-person and online, to reflect on how far we’ve come, share strategies, and forge new bonds in the face of persistent gender-based discrimination and harassment in the legal profession.
The Pathways to Power series emerged from frank and difficult conversations within the Women Lawyers Forum (WLF) Executive about the disappointing and often offensive rationalizations for why gender parity in leadership roles remains elusive. The inaugural event in 2015 focused on women in politics, followed by a session on women in the boardroom. Since then, the program has become an annual tradition through which we’ve been able to highlight the experiences of women in diverse spheres of professional life, including on the bench, in tech, as associates, in-house counsel, law firm founders, and more.
Ten years on, this milestone edition of Pathways to Power took on the timely and sobering theme: Women Rising Above Gender-Based Discrimination.
The theme was inspired by a deeply impactful article published last year in the Toronto Star titled: “Sexual harassment, discrimination forcing women lawyers to quit. Some say the profession needs its ‘Me Too’ movement” The article exposed the silent exodus of women from legal practice and revealed that, even today, women lawyers—including senior members of the profession—continue to face harassment and discrimination that many believed had long been eradicated.
We were honoured to have Janice Rubin as our moderator and hear from two of the lawyers featured in that
article, Julie Hannaford and Alexi Wood. However, their experiences highlighted a troubling truth: fear of professional repercussions continues to silence many women, even those with decades of experience and established reputations.
“The night before [the article came out],” Alexi shared, “I remember thinking that I had tanked my law firm. That I was going to be a pariah. That I was going to be shunned. That this was the worst idea of my entire career. I was so scared, and that in itself was so messed up.”
Julie echoed that fear: “Let’s face it, this game that we are all in is all about reputation and perception. I was terrified that, somehow, I would be lowered in the eyes of the people who were senior to me.”
These comments set the tone for a frank and sobering discussion, one that was also informed by insights from key institutional actors working on the front lines of change.
Lai-King Hum, from the Law Society of Ontario’s Discrimination and Harassment Counsel (DHC) program, explained that although a majority of women in law experience discrimination or harassment, only a small percentage reach out for help. Many are not sure if their experiences amount to discrimination and/or harassment count or fear that speaking out will negatively impact their careers.
Lai-King confirmed that the DHC provides confidential guidance. They do not report to the Law Society, nor do they file complaints on behalf of callers. “That’s important to a lot of people,” Lai-King said. “Fear is such a driving factor, so we emphasize that.” She also stressed that she does not want to take away the agency of those who contact them about discrimination. “It’s a safe space. You’re not going to be pushed into making a complaint or contacting the Law Society.”
Patricia DeGuire, Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, shared stark statistics: 40 to 50% of sexual harassment claims in Ontario arise in the workplace. “That tells us there is something terribly wrong in the workplace. Either duty holders are not taking the obligations that they must meet under the Human Rights Code seriously, or they are doing something but it’s not enough.”
Patricia DeGuire also called for an intersectional lens when examining workplace discrimination. For instance, Black women often carry a double burden: they face both sexualized and racial stereotypes and are frequently asked to determine whether the discrimination they experienced was based on their race or their gender. This, she noted, can be as traumatic as the conduct complained of.
“So, when we look at these things, we should look at them holistically and understand that they may have a different impact on other people. Think of the enormous weight that that person has on her shoulder. Not only does she have to defend that this thing happened, instead of people accepting that it did happen, but she also has to cope with all kinds of different trauma in the whole exercise. This is a piece that is often left out of the equation, and we must take it into consideration.”
The panel discussion then turned to strategies and individual actions that can begin to shift things in our profession. Julie spoke of the need to stand up and speak out: “There is too much silence and because the cost of being silent and simply looking down, sticking to your knitting and shutting up is that you effectively condone that behaviour continuing, I opt for saying no more, and that’s my view, as painful as it may be.”
Alexi advocated for subtle but powerful ways to show solidarity:
“I am not going to stand up in the courtroom and call out the judge. But there are some things that can be done. If you are in a position of privilege, the next time you stand up, you can say, ‘I’m sorry, did you have something you wanted to say?’ and you can open the floor to that person. And also, just go up to her afterwards and say, ‘I saw it, it was really crappy.’ Because just that acknowledgment makes a difference.”
Stewardship, community, and collective action were recurring themes. Julie urged women to actively challenge the myth that women do not support each other: “That is very destructive, and one thing we can do is to make a conscious effort to promote relationships, get over petty quarrels or issues, and come together. Because the more we isolate, sit around, brood and get mad alone, the worse it is for us as a gender.”
Lai-King also reminded us to stay vigilant in light of events going on elsewhere in the world, including south of the border, a sentiment that was shared by Chief Commissioner DeGuire who noted:
“We must be aware of the times we live in. Our shared humanity is under assault, justice is being hollered out, the language of ethics twisted into threats, and the very ideals we have fought for—truth, inclusion, freedom—are being recast as dangerous. Those who dare defend them are being targeted. We know that the work that we do is not easy, but it has to be done, We’ve got to protect the vulnerable, to affirm our collective dignity.”
As we concluded the program, one thing was clear: the path ahead requires both courage and community. It calls for speaking up, reaching out, and standing together. We owe it to ourselves, to the next generation of women lawyers, and to the integrity of our profession to ensure that no woman walks this path alone.
Any article or other information or content expressed or made available in this Section is that of the respective author(s) and not of the OBA.