Charlene Theodore

A diversity consultant, change management strategist and engaging speaker, Charlene Theodore helps shift perspectives and change the way leaders and employees think about the modern workplace.

Theodore is Chief Inclusion Officer at McCarthy Tétrault LLP. Committed to concrete action in advancing the firm’s core mission to accelerate diversity, inclusion and corporate social responsibility, she oversees McCarthy Tétrault’s firm wide, award-winning Inclusion Now program. Theodore also supports the firm’s clients with strategic advice on innovative and impactful solutions to realizing equity in the workplace. Theodore has a unique understanding of the interconnection between the successful businesses and EDI, and how to achieve tangible results.

As the first Black president of the Ontario Bar Association (OBA) and 10th woman to hold Office since 1917, Theodore designed and implemented a series of initiatives for law firms and Corporate Canada to reimagine workplaces building productive, profitable, healthy, diverse and inclusive work environments. Theodore's achievements in workplace equity and inclusion are informed by her experience as a former employment and labour lawyer. She appeared before administrative tribunals and various levels of court, including Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal. She also represented the interests of Canadians of African descent before federal and provincial legislative committees, as well as United Nations human rights treaty bodies. Her employment and labour practice was centred on advising management and boards on all aspects of governance and workplace operations including government relations, labour negotiations, pensions, and benefits.

Theodore is a member and former Director of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers (CABL), Canada’s largest national association of Black lawyers and judges. She is a recipient of a 2017 Lexpert Zenith Award honouring her for work in advancing the interests of women in the legal profession and society. In 2020, Theodore was named one of Canada’s 25 Most Influential Lawyers by Canadian Lawyer Magazine. She is also a member of the Top 40 Advisory Board, a body that reflects the diversity and leadership excellence in Canadian business, and identifies outstanding young business leaders for Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Award.