CCLA Signs UN Women’s Empowerment Principles

The County of Carleton Law Association (CCLA) is pleased to announce it has adopted the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) as part of its commitment to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. The CCLA is the first law association to sign the Empowerment Principles.

First established in 2010, the seven Empowerment Principles underpin a powerful global initiative designed to help businesses advance gender equality and promote women's economic empowerment within their workplaces, industries and communities.

In signing the Empowerment Principles, the CCLA commits to:

1. Establishing high-level corporate leadership for gender equality
2. Treating all women and men fairly at work - respect and support human rights and non-discrimination
3. Ensuring health, safety and well-being of all workers, regardless of gender
4. Promoting women's education, training and professional development
5. Implementing enterprise development, supply chain and marketing practices that empower women
6. Promoting equality through community initiatives and advocacy
7. Measuring and publicly report on progress to achieve gender equality

"It is exciting that the CCLA has taken the strong step forward as a leader by being the first law association to sign on to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles,” said Rebecca Bromwich, Diversity Committee Acting Chair of the CCLA. “Working on implementing them is an intersectional task that will involve collaboration between the Board, Diversity Committee and our membership as a whole. I am proud of the CCLA for making this bold step forward."

Increasing the number of women in senior roles remains a significant focus for the CCLA. Of our past five Presidents, three were women, and currently, three quarters of our Board of Trustees and over three quarters of the CCLA’s staff are also women. We are committed in continuing to invest in strategies tailored to promote greater recognition and understanding of the challenges facing women in the workplace.

In 2015, The CCLA started the Diversity Committee to help foster a culture of diversity and inclusion in the association by enabling the values and principles of equality and equity in our organizational structure, policies, programs, and services. More recently, the committee held its Women’s Speed Mentoring Event for the third year in a row. The event is meant for women to share experiences, strategize solutions and receive tips and guidance on navigating careers in law, and how to deal with the unique pressures facing them in the profession today.

“I applaud the CCLA’s step forward in signing the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles. The importance of mentoring, both by women and of women, is embedded in those principles: it is through education and encouragement that we empower young women,” said Rosalind Conway, Vice President of the CCLA, and the first former female President of the Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa (DCAO).

We will be continually adding to the CCLA website regarding our efforts, and we look forward to sharing that with you as we move forward.


Craig O’Brien
CCLA President