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35 Queen's L.J. 569 (2009-2010)
Towards a Race and Gender-Conscious Conception of the Firm: Canadian Corporate Governance, Law and Diversity

handle is hein.journals/queen35 and id is 573 raw text is: Towards a Race and Gender-Conscious Conception of the Firm: Canadian Corporate Governance, Law and Diversity Aaron A. Dhir* Because boards of directors are taking an increasingly active role in corporate governance and reform, board composition may have a significant impact on how a corporation is run. This article considers the intersection of race and gender with corporate law and governance in the Canadian context. The available statistics on board composition in Canada reveal widespread homogeneity of membership. One reason that has been put forward to explain this is the pool problem', that is, the argument that the lack of diversity reflects an underlying lack of qualified, diverse candidates to fill board positions. The author suggests that this argument is invalid, and that the perpetuation of board homogeneity may instead be explained by psychological science through the impact of implicit cognitive biases. He uses identity narratives to demonstrate the effect of these biases on the everyday lives of subordinated groups within the corporation. The author considers the attempts of some writers to paint board diversification as a tool to increase organizational performance, but questions whether this approach does in fact ameliorate the situation of marginalized groups. In exploring possible avenues for reform, he places particular emphasis on the nomination process for directors and on attempts to empower shareholders. Ultimately, he suggests that Canadian regulators should institute governance principles and recommendations in order to promote diversity, as has been done in other jurisdictions. * Assistant Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University. This paper was awarded Honourable Mention in the 2009 Canadian Association of Law Teachers' Scholarly Paper Award Competition. Aspects of it were presented at the 8th Annual Critical Race and Anticolonial Studies Conference titled Race-ing Hegemonies, Resurging Imperialisms: Building Anti-Racist and Anti-Colonial Theory and Practice for Our Times (Ryerson University, 16 November 2008). I am grateful to Ed Waitzer, Cheryl Wade, Thomas Joo, Stephanie Ben-Ishai, Mihkel Voore, Allan Hutchinson, Peer Zumbansen, David Tanovich, Carmela Murdocca and Vincent Joel Proulx for their detailed comments on earlier drafts and to Poonam Pur, Doreen McBarnet and Sara Slinn for thoughtful discussions. I acknowledge with appreciation the excellent research assistance of Reena Kotecha, Jessica DiFederico and Chad Travis, and the tremendous research contributions and dedication of Anna Gersh. This work was supported by a 2008 Borden Ladner Gervais Research Fellowship. A. Dhir

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