Call for Submissions- Volume 7, Issue 2
Call for Submissions–Volume 7, Issue 2
We are pleased to announce that the Lakehead Law Journal (“LLJ”) will be publishing a special issue focusing on Women and the Law in Canada, which is scheduled for publication during the 2025-26 academic year. We will be accepting articles, book reviews and case comments.
Inspiration
The year 2025 marks 150 years since the first woman in Canada received a university degree, 128 years since the first Canadian woman was called to the bar, 108 years since women in Manitoba received the right to vote, 96 years since women were considered under the legal definition of the word “persons” and only 65 years since all women in Canada received the right to vote.[1] Mary Jane Mossman’s book Quiet Rebels,[2] captures the stories of the 187 Ontario women lawyers who were called to the bar between 1897 and 1957 and who were navigating the changing legal landscape of their rights. These women undertook the task of navigating what was viewed to be a “gentleman’s profession.”[3]
In her book Mossman charts the growth, challenges and successes of women lawyers from 1897 through to 1957. Inspired by this work, we, the Managing Editors of the LLJ, began a discussion about the number of female students in law classes across Canada, which has become a broader conversation about women’s experiences navigating the legal profession. In this special issue we seek to explore the experiences of women and the law (i) as legal practitioners; and (ii) as citizens interacting with the institution. A changing social and political climate worldwide shows that women continue to primarily bear the brunt of harm in times of tension and unrest: turmoil in our neighbouring United States, most evidently with the overturning of Roe v Wade 410 U.S. 113; the global #MeToo movement; the lack of action by the Canadian government in implementing the 231 calls for Justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls; and the dangerous rise of the online Incel movement, are only a few examples of issues that inspired the theme of this issue.
So often, the law changes, including changes to the profession itself, but not enough is done to reconcile the centuries of inequality, marginalization, and abuse that is experienced on a broader societal level. As of 2023, women make up less than 25 percent of firm partners in both common law and civil law countries,[4] which is partly due to the normalization and subordination of “women as caregivers” in the legal workplace.[5] Evidently, when women’s identities intersect with overlapping forms of oppression and inequality, the harm is exacerbated.
As young women entering the legal profession this special issue is our call to look outwards connecting the lived experiences of a growing number of women and gender minority lawyers, to the need for systemic change that prioritizes addressing gender based harms.
Paper Topics
We invite submissions from students enrolled in any Canadian Law School, Professors and Faculty, and other legal professionals across Canada. We welcome submissions on all issues related to Women and the Law in Canada.
If you have ideas for papers and you would like to discuss with the editors, please reach out to the managing editors at lawjournal@lakeheadu.ca, or to Professor Tenille Brown, Editor-in-Chief, at Tenille.Brown@lakeheadu.ca. The editors will be selecting books related to the special issue theme to be circulated at a later date. If you have ideas about a book that would be suitable for this special issue, or you would like to be put on a list of potential book reviewers, please email us.
The LLJ fills a significant niche in the legal scholarship landscape by focusing on the following mandates: (1) Aboriginal and Indigenous legal issues; (2) rural, northern, and small firm practice; and/or (3) natural resources and environmental law. This issue is a special edition focusing on Women and the Law in Canada. We also publish papers that are shorter than typical academic articles. Our hope is that shorter pieces (7000 words) will be more accessible to busy lawyers and judges, making them more likely to be cited in judgments and play a part in shaping the law.
Information, Dates and Deadlines
Please send your paper proposal, of approx. 500 words, outlining the topic of your submission and planned format (academic article, case note, etc.) by March 31st, 2025 to lawjournal@lakeheadu.ca.
Final papers will be due on the 15th September 2025 and must be submitted using the online database at llj.lakeheadu.ca. All submissions must be cited using the 10th edition of the McGill Uniform Guide to Legal Citation.
We look forward to working with you.
Hailey Hayes & Natasha Latina
Hailey Hayes and Natasha Latina
Co-Managing Editors 2024-2025
Lakehead Law Journal
[1] Canada, “Women in Canadian History: A Timeline” (last modified 23 October 2024), online: <https://www.canada.ca/en/women-gender-equality/commemorations-celebrations/womens-history-month/women-history-canada-timeline.html> [perma.cc/3NRA-T26Y].
[2] Mary Jane Mossman, Quiet Rebels: A History of Ontario Women Lawyers (Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier Press, 2023).
[3] Ibid at 2.
[4] Margaret Thornton, “Who Cares? The Conundrum for Gender Equality” in Margaret Thornton, Law and the Quest for Gender Equality (Canberra: ANU Press, 2023) 199 at 200.
[5] Ibid at 221.
