The initiatives are not “quick-fixes” but are instead designed to drive a “structural shift”
Law firm Gilbert + Tobin (G+T) has announced a suite of new initiatives to accelerate its progress towards building a diverse and inclusive workforce.
The goal is to address barriers to women’s full participation in the workforce and play a role in improving the representation of women in senior leadership across the legal profession.
The initiatives announced include:
- A new target to increase the representation of women in its partnership to 40% by 2023, as a critical step towards becoming a gender-balanced partnership
- Extending superannuation contributions to cover unpaid portions of parental leave for primary carers
- Providing employees with a ‘work from home IT kit’ including a full-sized screen and keyboard to enable greater flexibility in how people manage their personal commitments with the needs of clients
- Continuing to support new parents through best-practice parental leave entitlements, flexible working options and return-to-work support.
Managing Partner Danny Gilbert said that leaders need to attract the best talent in the market and assemble diverse teams who can bring unique perspectives, experiences and skill sets to the table.
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“While we have always had more than 30% of our partners being women we recognise we need to take decisive action towards creating a fully gender-balanced partnership, redressing the financial disadvantages and impact of caring responsibilities that fall disproportionately on women and making flexible work practices a reality for all our people,” said Gilbert.
“This is critical to enable both men and women to better balance their work and personal commitments.”
Gilbert added that the initiatives are not “quick-fixes” but are instead designed to drive a “structural shift” to ensure they are providing staff with the right opportunities, tools, policies and environment for them to thrive.
“We want to ensure G+T continues to be a place that champions equality for all. Importantly we hope our efforts will help catalyse wider action and change across the profession.”