Who are we?
The Centre for Feminist Legal Studies team includes the Chair in Feminist Legal Studies, Director, Steering Committee, and Student Coordinator.
Chair in Feminist Legal Studies
The Faculty's endowed Chair in Feminist Legal Studies, established in 1992, plays an integral role in reinforcing and strengthening feminist legal studies in the Faculty and helps foster and support scholarship and learning directed toward the ongoing process of social change in relation to the position of women in Canadian society.
Professor Susan B. Boyd was the first incumbent of the Chair, and was also Director of the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies from 1997 until 2012. She retired in 2015 and continues to be involved in the Faculty and the CFLS as Professor Emerita.
The Centre welcomed Professor Debra Parkes as Chair in Feminist Legal Studies in July 2016. She served as Director of the CFLS from January 2017 to June 2021.
Director
The Director is responsible for the overall direction, budget, and operation of the Centre for Feminist Legal Studies and its activities. Although much of the day to day workload of operating the Centre is facilitated by the Student Coordinator and student volunteers, the Director actively supervises and provides direction to these students; organizes events; chairs monthly Steering Committee meetings; answers questions from students, faculty and the public; and hosts visiting scholars. The Director also reports on the Centre’s activities and promotes its interests alongside the Steering Committee.
The Centre welcomes Professor Margot Young as the new Director of the Centre as of September 2022.
Professor Young has been teaching at the Peter A. Allard School of Law since 2002, following 10 years at the Faculty of Law, University of Victoria. She brings to this job experience from many years on the CFLS Steering Committee.
The Centre provides an opportunity to interact with academics, lawyers, and community leaders who are making a difference on feminist issues. Professor Young has worked with women's equality-seeking groups on NGO reports for the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESR), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is comprised of the Director, Student Coordinator, Graduate Student Representative and three to four faculty members. It provides advice, support, and direction to the Directors and Student Coordinator in running the Centre.
Current Steering Committee Members:
Margot Young (Director)
The Honourable Lynn Smith, OC, KC
Aki Kamoshida (J.D. Rep.)
Sofia Cornejo (Graduate Student Representative)
Sofia Cornejo is a Ph.D. student at Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia, where she also completed her LLM. She obtained her LLB from the National University of Rio Cuarto in Argentina. Her previous research work consists of a comparative analysis of parental leave regulations in Argentina and Canada. In her Ph.D. studies, Sofia will examine the intersection between domestic violence and employment law, with a focus on domestic violence leave legislation.
Student Coordinator
The Student Coordinator of the CFLS assists the Director in planning the weekly lectures and other events, publicizes CFLS activities via email and social media, organizes joint events with other student groups, and serves as a contact for visitors of the Centre. Additional duties include maintaining the Centre's space, coordinating the Centre's volunteers, and conducting occasional research for the Centre or the Director.
The current Student Coordinator is Aki Kamoshida (she/her), who is in her second year at the Allard School of Law. Aki has been actively involved in the Allard Law community, serving as the Ombudsperson and former 1L Academic Representative of the Law Students' Society, and volunteering with the Law Students' Legal Advice Program. Aki is thrilled to be joining the CFLS team this year and looks forward to seeing you at upcoming events!
