#14 January 30, 2025

« How the fight against discrimination and equity can work, at last, through law », Discussing the Groundbreaking Report to the Canadian Government by Law Professor and #DW Core Group Member Adelle Blackett.

Time: 5am San Francisco-Vancouver | 7am Mexico City | 8am Bogotá-NYC-Montréal | 10am Santiago | 2pm Paris | 3pm Johannesburg | 6.30pm New Delhi | 8pm Jakarta | 12am Sydney 

Location: online (registration here)

Organizers: #DemocratizingWork and WageIndicator Foundation 

Speakers: Adelle Blackett (McGill, ILO),  Jeannine Van der Rheede (University of the Western Cape), Marie Clarke Walker (Principal at Marie Clarke Walker Consulting Inc.) and Ana Virginia Moreira Gomes (International Labour Organization).

Chair: Imge Kaya-Sabanci (IE Business School, Havard University) as chair and Fiona Dragstra (WageIndicator) as support to ground the debate.

In 2023, a groundbreaking report was presented to the Canadian Government by Adelle Blackett, outlining a transformative framework for achieving employment equity and advancing the democratization of work. The report emphasizes that meaningful change requires not only policies that promote fairness in the workplace but also systems that empower workers and prioritize collective well-being over corporate profit.

This session will explore the key ideas and recommendations from Blackett’s report, focusing on how employment equity and the democratization of work are mutually reinforcing goals. Together, they provide a roadmap for building a labor landscape that is inclusive, equitable, and sustainable—a model that addresses systemic barriers while ensuring dignity and rights for all workers. 

Adelle Blackett is Professor of Law and the Canada Research Chair in Transnational Labour Law at the Faculty of Law, McGill University. She is a #DemocratizingWork core group member.  An elected fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, she was the lead expert on ILO Domestic Workers Convention No. 189, the ILO expert in a deeply consultative tripartite labour law reform process in Haiti, and chair of the Canadian Employment Equity Act Review Task Force and author of its report, A Transformative Framework to Achieve and Sustain Employment Equity.  She is widely published in the field of transnational labour law, with a focus on emancipatory approaches. Her book manuscript entitled Everyday Transgressions: Domestic Workers’ Transnational Challenge to International Labor Law (Cornell University Press) garnered the Canadian Council on International Law’s (CCIL) 2020 Scholarly Book Award. She has received many honours, including three honorary doctorates and the Bob Hepple Award for Lifetime Achievement in Labour Law.  She is currently completing  a book manuscript on slavery and the law.

Jeannine Van der Rheede is a lecturer in the Department of Mercantile and Labour Law at the University of the Western Cape. She is currently serving as chairperson of the Law Faculty’s Employment Equity Committee and member of the University’s Employment Equity Forum. Before joining the University of the Western Cape in 2018 she practiced as an attorney for several years. She holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Cape Town and a PhD in Labour law from the University of the Western Cape. Her research background is in the field of employment equity with a specific interest in affirmative action and black economic empowerment in South Africa.

Marie Clarke Walker is a dedicated mentor and a strong believer that social justice is essential to an equitable world. She was the first Black/Racialized woman to serve as both Secretary-Treasurer and Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). Marie continues to participate and work on many issues that are important to workers and marginalized communities, including ILO Convention 190, gender, workers and human rights. As a member of the federal Employment Equity Task Force, she was an instrumental member of the team, recommending major changes that will make the world of work more equitable. Marie continues to contribute to community empowerment in many ways. She sits on several boards including Homeward Family Shelter and is a member of the 100ABC Women evaluation/selection and planning committees. 

Ana Virginia Moreira Gomes holds the position of International Labour Organization Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Lima, Peru since January 1, 2024. In addition to her role at the ILO, she is a full professor at the University of Fortaleza (On leave), teaching in both the Postgraduate Program in Constitutional Law and the undergraduate Law Course.  The focus of her research has been on some of themes that also form the ILO’s agenda: the guarantee of international labour standards, social protection, and social dialogue. In addition to her academic research, she has worked closely with some initiatives around public policy developments. She was part of the technical team of the Brazilian National Labor Forum in 2004 and has served on two councils: the State Council for the Rights of Homeless Population in Ceará, and the Scientific Council of the Judicial Research and Data Science Secretariat of the Superior Labor Court in Brazil.