Career Wellbeing Among Racialized Lawyers in Canadian Law Firms

E. Kate Amato; Charles Chen

doi:10.82396/cjcd.v25i1.3258

Authors

E. Kate Amato University of Toronto
Charles Chen University of Toronto

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.82396/cjcd.v25i1.3258

Keywords:

career wellbeing, racialized, lawyers, thematic analysis, tokenism, racial bias, organizational norms, diversity, equity, inclusion

Abstract

The upward mobility of racialized lawyers within Canadian law firms continues to lag behind that of their White counterparts. While some progress has been made in recruitment, significant disparities remain in retention and promotion. This qualitative study explores how racialized lawyers experience working in Canadian law firms and how these experiences impact their career wellbeing. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 racialized lawyers, and the data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. The themes identified were informed by existing literature on organizational dynamics and professional inequality and included tokenism processes (hypervisibility, role encapsulation and boundary heightening), bias (status expectations and homophily preferences) and organizational norms (professional and emotion), as well as several subthemes. These themes and subthemes were linked to diminished access to meaningful work, positive relationships with colleagues, career growth opportunities, perceived organizational support and autonomy—all core dimensions of career wellbeing. The findings reveal the cumulative psychological and structural burdens racialized lawyers face and underscore the need to embed equity into law firm culture in ways that meaningfully support career wellbeing, particularly amid increasing sociopolitical resistance to DEI efforts.

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