The impact of today’s diverse workforce is beginning to be felt in ways which were previously unimagined.   Many organizations, including, law firms, are requiring minimum levels of diversity from contractors and suppliers. Implementation of these policies poses new challenges to those very institutions trying to increase diversity.  Specifically:

• How do organizations, like law firms or government agencies, assess whether they are properly addressing the needs of their less-visible minorities, such as, the LGBT community?
• Can companies, public institutions or NGOs require disclosure of an employee’s or volunteer’s sexual orientation?
• What are the privacy interests of people from whom disclosure is requested, and how are these interests impacted?
• What is the right balance between an individual’s right to keep significant details of their life private and the need to properly identify minorities in order to better serve them?

Join our panel of leading experts from private practice, regulatory bodies, and education institutions to examine and explain some of the challenges and solutions that law firms, public institutions and NGOs face in moving from recognizing the needs of their diverse populations and actually creating workable policies which both address group needs but respect the privacy rights of individuals.

PROGRAM CHAIRS

Ryan Edmonds, Owner, Ryan Edmonds Workplace Counsel
Scott Scambler, Associate, Koch Thornton LLP

SPEAKERS

Raj Anand, Partner, WeirFoulds LLP
Timothy Banks, Partner, Dentons LLP
Elena Reshetnikova, Legal Counsel, Accenture
Joy Casey, Founder, A Call to Action Canada