Women's Legal Education and Action Fund invites applications to national board of directors

Women from marginalized groups and/or queer/trans identifying individuals urged to apply

Women's Legal Education and Action Fund invites applications to national board of directors

The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund Inc. (LEAF) is recruiting from anywhere in Canada one new member for its national board of directors, with a preference for candidates who will enhance the board’s diversity and lived experiences.

LEAF encourages applications from women of colour, Indigenous women, women with disabilities, women from other marginalized groups and/or queer/trans identifying individuals.

Ideally, successful candidates are those passionate about gender equality, including community activists, lawyers, law students and academics who have experience and knowledge in the areas of communications, human rights and equality litigation, anti-racist and anti-colonial practice, fund development, law reform, non-profit governance, program development or public legal education.

The board’s members serve for a two-year mandate, subject to renewal. They should commit five to ten hours monthly, should attend all twelve board meetings per year, which can be done virtually or via phone, and should join at least one committee.

Interested individuals should email [email protected] with a resume, an accomplished application form and a cover letter explaining what attracts them to LEAF and how their perspectives, experiences and intersections may benefit the organization’s work.

The deadline for applications is on Sept. 6. LEAF will reach out to the applicants chosen for interviews by Sept. 10, will conduct the interviews from Sept. 13 to 17 and will welcome the successful candidate at the annual general meeting on Sept. 24.

The board, which works closely with the executive director, is in charge of the organization’s effective governance and is accountable to the funders for the services outlined in contribution agreements or contracts.

Established in 1985, LEAF is a national, charitable, non-profit organization that seeks to promote the equality of women and girls in Canada through litigation, law reform and public education and that challenges laws, policies and practices discriminating against the equality rights found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, particularly those in s. 15 and s. 28.

The organization has intervened in more than 100 cases aiming to advance equality, to promote reproductive freedoms and pay equity rights and to improve maternity benefits and spousal support. It has achieved legal victories combating violence against women and gender diverse individuals and workplace discrimination.