Private and in-house practitioners can help with research project on more supportive workplaces
The Canadian Bar Association’s Alberta branch has announced that it is looking for participants for a new research initiative that aims to explore the experiences of lawyers in the province who have recently become parents.
For the research project’s first phase, CBA Alberta has urged mothers and gender-diverse parents who are working as private practitioners or in-house lawyers in the province and who have welcomed a child within the past three years to participate.
In its news release, CBA Alberta noted that the study seeks to:
- Improve understanding of how legal professionals in the province experience parenthood
- Figure out best practices for how legal workplaces can more inclusively and effectively support lawyer-parents
- Improve equity, retention, and well-being across the legal profession in Alberta and elsewhere
- Inform policy development in this area
“We encourage you to share your experience and contribute to shaping more inclusive and supportive workplaces in the legal profession,” CBA Alberta said in its news release.
CBA Alberta stressed that it aims to ensure that the research findings reflect insights from a broad array of participants across various practice settings, identities, and lived experiences, including those from diverse communities and backgrounds.
More on the study
In its news release, CBA Alberta shared that it is undertaking the research initiative in partnership with Brock University, Mount Royal University, and the Reimagining Care/Work Policies project. CBA Alberta noted that the research has received ethics approval from the two universities.
Dr. Rachael Pettigrew, a professor at Mount Royal University; Dr. Andrea Doucet, a professor at Brock University; and Dr. Natasha Stecy-Hildebrandt, a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) postdoctoral fellow at Brock University, are leading the study.
In its news release, CBA Alberta explained that those qualified and interested in participating in the research project should:
- Review and sign a consent form, which includes additional details on consent, confidentiality, and data use
- Fill out the pre-screening questionnaire included in the link for the consent form
- Attend a 60–90 minute scheduled interview on Zoom upon being selected as a participant
CBA Alberta emphasized that participants are free to withdraw at any time because participation is voluntary.
