While I was on vacation, I saw a tweet from our firm posting a picture with the Positive Space sign. You may have seen it and thought to yourself “What is that?” When it was discussed in the firm about putting up the sign, I didn’t know what it actually meant, and to what extent it would help the building.
By saying that our firm is a Positive Space means that we are committed to creating a safe and welcoming space that is inclusive and free from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identify and gender expression. It’s a sign that we, in our office, are supportive of the 2SWe aLGBTTIQQ community.
People can come and ask us for help if they felt uncomfortable. We would support them in what they needed to the best that we could, whether it would be to make a phone call for them, or as we are in building that does not have gender neutral washroom, accompany them to the washroom.
Why is this so important? Our firm deals with employment issues on a regular basis and we believe it’s important to practice what we preach. While we are business law firm and represent employers, we are aware of employees complaints and because of that, we do our best to ensure that the employers we represent do not violate anyone’s Human Rights. If we are to make sure that the employers are doing their best, then we need to do our best.
In writing this blog I had to do some research on the Positive Space movement and found out it has been around for about 20 years. As I’m just hearing about this now, I thought it would be a good topic to write on as chances are, you are just hearing about this too.
Christine Allan, Law Clerk