Feminist Leadership Summit 2011

In February 2011, NAWL hosted a Feminist Leadership Summit in Ottawa that was attended by twenty-one young feminists from across Canada. All of the Summit participants, representing a diverse range of identities, had demonstrated leadership skills and equality rights work experience in their communities.

The goal of the summit was to connect young leaders from local associations of women and the law (or organizations working on equality rights issues) with one another, as well as to provide participants with some concrete leadership and advocacy skills.

Participants attended a series of workshops and discussions on feminist advocacy and law reform that drew on the expertise of some of Canada’s leading feminist lawyers, academics, communications experts and activists.

The Summit worked to build the capacity of local women's and equality rights caucuses as well as to develop new potential leaders for NAWL.

Feminist Leadership Summit Report

Women, The Charter, and CEDAW in the 21st Century: Taking Stock and Moving Forward

Feminist Legal Studies Queen's
Conference - March 2-3, 2012

Women, The Charter, and CEDAW in the 21st Century: Taking Stock and Moving Forward
Faculty of Law, Queen's University
128 Union St.
Kingston, Ontario, Canada

This conference is open to anyone interested in equality and women's issues, including students, faculty, members of community organizations, workers, policy analysts, managers and administrators, government employees, and professionals.

Please register in advance with Melissa Howlett at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . There are no registration fees for students, those on low incomes, or voluntary workers; those who can afford to contribute toward the food expenses of this conference are asked to pay a $50 registration fee upon arrival. Information on conference hotel rates can be obtained from Ms. Howlett.

Economic Rights within the Family Project

With funding from The Law Foundation of Ontario NAWL has developed A Women’s Guide to Money, Relationships and the Law in Ontario. This online tool responds to the need of young women to know more about their economic rights when entering and leaving common law relationships or marriages and the difference between the two. The guide includes information about the different legal definitions of spouse in Ontario, spousal and child support, economic abuse, the division of property, and has tools to help women write their own cohabitation or separation agreements.

Click here for more information and to dowload the guide

Gender and the Law Handbook

The NAWL Charitable Trust for Research and Education has published an alternative orientation guide to law school: Gender and the Law Manual: An Introductory Handbook for Law Students. The Manual was compiled by a working group of 8 law students from across Canada following a leadership summit held by NAWL in February 2011. It aims to provide feminist and equality seeking law students with hope, encouragement and inspiration as well as with some of the tools they may need to survive law school and legal practice.

Feminist Curriculum in Law Schools

NAWL is excited to announce that it has received funding from the McLean Foundation to study the feasibility of developing and implementing applied feminist curriculum in a Canadian law school using a clinic model.

The study will include a needs assessment, taking into consideration the underserved legal needs of marginalized women. Watch the NAWL website for updates on this project.

Pay Equity, Aboriginal Women

Custody and Access, Sexual Assault

Violence Against Women, Family Law

Immigration, Parental Benefits