Canadian Lawyer InHouse

MARCH/APRIL 2019 42 INHOUSE By Sharmarkay M. Hersi In Closing Finding my 'fit' at CMHC Role in-house offers opportunity to thrive where diversity of thought fosters innovation. W e know that diversity and inclusion drives the bottom line, yet it remains a lasting challenge with scarce representation in leadership, whether it's on the judiciary, in partner- ships or in the C-suite. A read of Hadiya Roderique's Black on Bay Street from The Globe and Mail in November 2017 gives you a glimpse into the challenges faced in workplaces when there's a disconnect in what we think about diversity and inclusion and how we apply it. Closing that gap requires us to be aware of our biases and to use innova- tion to tap into different approaches and expe- riences to reconstruct workplaces and embrace our differences. MY JOURNEY TO FIT After graduating law school, I joined a global law fi rm on Bay Street as an advisory and research lawyer. My team gave advice to other lawyers in the fi rm on a range of complex corporate and litigation issues. It prepared me to become in-house counsel, exposing me to the reality of juggling large-scale priorities, manag- ing the expectations of multiple clients and learning the art of communicating legal advice simply and ef- fectively. The challenge was fi nding my fi t. As part of the recruitment strategies of many Bay Street fi rms, there was a conscious effort to recruit "the right fi t" — somewhat of a template of the kind of person perceived to thrive in that environment. As successful as I was, I realized that I didn't fi t that mold. This was apparent to me any time I walked into a boardroom and nobody looked like me or I encountered the well-intentioned efforts to simplify my name because it was too diffi - cult. With each of those moments, I questioned my belonging. Nonetheless, it was a growing experience, helping me to revisit why I wanted to become a lawyer and realize where I wanted to fi t. It was clear to me that I wanted to use my legal skills to help those same diverse communities where I grew up as an immigrant in Canada, while still being exposed to a broad range of challenging and sophisticated work. As luck would have it, I was introduced to CMHC. HOW WE FOSTER DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION THROUGH INNOVATION Our legal department is 30 lawyers strong, ranging in professional, generational and geographic backgrounds. The last few years have been ones of growth in our department fi lled with shifts and re- alignments allowing us to refi ne our value proposition and tap into our respective abilities and interests to achieve our mission in helping Canadians meet their housing needs. For instance, our department played a pivotal role in CMHC leading and delivering Canada's fi rst-ever National Housing Strategy, a 10- year, $40-billion plan to help ensure that Canadians have access to safe and affordable housing. As an organization, we know that diversity of thought fosters innovation. We're encouraged to generate ideas and to "think yes fi rst." At the same time, we're encouraged to celebrate our failures. We don't want to fail, but we know that with innovation sometimes comes failure; as long as we're learning from those failures we're encouraged to "fail forward." An example of our values in practice is our new work philosophy. Work is now something we do rather than somewhere you go and where job performance is measured by the results achieved as opposed to the hours worked or face time. Key to the CMHC's innovation is our people and we strive to ensure that our workforce refl ects Canada's diversity. Some of the milestones that we recently achieved include gender integration in our leadership team, with women representing approximately 67 per cent of our executive team, 51 per cent of management and 36 per cent of our board of directors. We also recently established a Truth and Reconciliation Committee to help fi nd ways to support reconciliation and help ensure Indigenous voices are at the centre of our decision-making processes. This summer, we will be leading a diversity and inclusion conference geared toward the public service and fi nancial sector. As the dialogue evolves in our respective workplaces on how we can foster diversity and inclusion, it's important to recognize and share what we're doing right and to identify opportunities to do better. IH Sharmarkay M. Hersi is legal counsel at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in Ottawa. This is the second installment in a year-long series on innovation at CMHC. The challenge was fi nding my fi t.

• Cover