Webinar: Employment Equity and Democratizing Work - A Tranformative Framework - 2025

Report Presenter: Adelle Blackett

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 and has received many honours, including three honorary doctorates and the Bob Hepple Award for Lifetime Achievement in Labour Law.

Session Chair: Imge Kaya-Sabanci

Imge Kaya-Sabanci is a management scholar specializing in entrepreneurship and strategy at IE Business School in Madrid. She is particularly interested in analyzing entrepreneurial practices from the perspectives of policy implications, gender and diversity, and social impact creation. She has previously served as Regional Program Director for Europe, the Middle East, India, and Africa for Ernst & Young (EY)’s Entrepreneurial Winning Women Program. Before that, she was the Turkey Program Manager for Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women Initiative. With over a decade of experience across international organizations, the private sector, NGOs, and universities, she has extensive expertise in international development programs focused on entrepreneurship, women’s economic empowerment, and gender equality. She is also a core group member of the #DemocratizingWork initiative.

Speaker: Jeannine Van de Rheede

Jeannine van de 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.

Speaker: Marie Clarke Walker

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.

Speaker: Ana Virginia Gomes

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. Her research has focussed the guarantee of international labour standards, social protection, and social dialogue. She was also 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.