SALSA Co-President shares thoughts after meeting with Trudeau
The University of Toronto’s South Asian Law Students’ Society (SALSA) attended a virtual town hall with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on October 28. Bardish Chagger, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Youth, hosted the discussion. The event was for women leaders of South Asian descent from various professional backgrounds to come together and celebrate October as Women’s History Month. Speakers discussed personal barriers and community struggles driven by the pandemic.
The South Asian Bar Association (SABA) emphasized the difficulties women of colour face in the legal profession. The Toronto Chapter Board members, Melissa Krishna and Richa Sandill, pointed out that no visible minority has ever been appointed to the Supreme Court. For women specifically, they noted their lack of representation in senior management of law firms. According to the panelists, female lawyers of colour are also questioned more often about their qualifications.
The Prime Minister did not mention any specific measure to address the concerns but promised that he has heard them and is working on solutions.
SALSA Co-Chairs, Dhriti Chakravarty (2L) and Vanshika Dhawan (2L), received invitations to the town hall. Ultra Vires sat down with Chakravarty to discuss her takeaways from the event as well as thoughts on equity work at the law school.
Ultra Vires (UV): What are some of your takeaways from the speakers at the townhall?
Dhriti Chakravarty (DC): Speakers from charities talked about the struggles underprivileged communities face due to the pandemic. Child poverty is intertwined with remote education. Food banks’ increased demand due to COVID-induced joblessness. And women facing domestic violence, for example, have a much harder time adjusting during the quarantine; and because of immigration law, some can’t even take a stance against their abusers. COVID has really posed new challenges for non-profits and social justice organizations.
UV: How did these discussions inform your view on your own work at SALSA?
DC: Equity work can be very draining, especially for persons of colour. I sometimes feel that it is double the work – as a law student, you are doing what your peers do; and simultaneously you need to advocate for yourself or your equity group to make sure that you’re actively dismantling the barriers your BIPOC peers are facing. Naturally, this means equity work involves occasional burnouts. It felt very inspiring to hear fellow South Asian women speakers’ share their work with the groups they serve and see them advocate directly to the Prime Minister of Canada for further changes.
UV: How do you think the legal profession fits within this bigger picture of social justice?
DC: The event helped me see the legal profession as part of the leadership for the broader society. I think the amount of social capital and influence the profession holds almost creates a reciprocal duty to provide space for equity-facing groups when we move up in academic or professional fields. Perhaps a reason why many law students later enter politics is that we are provided so much information about the inner workings of a common law nation and its government within our degrees; it becomes almost natural to participate. That knowledge is a privilege and can be put to good use to serve the community as a whole.
UV: What role does SALSA play in the law school or the broader community?
DC: I think in the past we’ve focused almost exclusively on offering networking opportunities and organizing study materials. This year we’re trying to do more advocacy- and equity-based work.
This change was set into high gear after the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests over the summer, which has inspired lasting conversations at the law school. The equity-facing groups came together and began reflecting on how we can be better allies to each other. This applies both to the equity work we do, and how we, as individual law students, go about our legal education and professional development.
UV: What are some highlights of SALSA’s advocacy efforts this year?
DC: We worked with other equity-facing groups at the law school on an open letter to the Dean about diversity and inclusion. The Students’ Law Society (SLS) also supported this effort. The equity groups also urged the Dean to release an official plan or statement in response to concerns raised by BLM movements. As we follow the Faculty’s response to this letter, we continue to do our small part in diversifying the decolonized perspectives available to law students, by bringing in diverse panelists who can speak to students about the profession.
UV: Do you think the discussion on equity issues will continue beyond BLM protests?
DC: Definitely. Part of our role as leaders of equity-facing groups is also to preserve institutional memory. SALSA is aiming to build a consistent social media presence this year as an example. This is important because advocacy work needs continuity: we want all the resources to be available for future reflection so people can build upon what has been discussed or achieved.
