This week Russell Kennedy Lawyers has released its updated 2022-2025 Gender Equality Strategy. The Strategy demonstrates Russell Kennedy’s continued commitment to gender equality, in addition to being publicly recognised in March 2022 for the fifth year straight, as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE), by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) – read more here.
Russell Kennedy's Managing Director and Chair of the Gender Equality Committee at Russell Kennedy, Paul Gleeson, said “the strategy builds on our initial Gender Equality Strategy which was first published in 2017. It will enable us to shape our culture, to bring a continued commitment of gender equality for our people, clients and our community”.
Over the last five years since launching the first strategy, Russell Kennedy has seen an improvement in gender composition for women at principal level increase from 28% to 42%.
Russell Kennedy’s Director of People & Culture and member of the Gender Equality Committee at Russell Kennedy, Leanda Nissen says “across the roles and levels, we continue to see greater progress in achieving gender equality but there is still much more work to do - as a firm we are genuinely committed to this strategy which keeps building on the work we have already done”.
The strategy includes the four priority metrics that underpin the leadership capability to continue to bring about equality. These metrics are flexible workplace culture, gender composition, gender pay equity and capability and education. Leanda Nissen states “the capability and education metric is aimed to develop staff capability and confidence in gender equality – this helps us to improve our staff engagement and retention, and supports attracting the best talent in the market”.
The strategy focuses on intersectionality, however the focus remains on addressing the inequalities between our two largest gender groups, women (including transgender women) and men (including transgender men). It has been endorsed by the Russell Kennedy board and was created following an extensive consultation process with staff and external consultants.
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This news has been covered by Lawyers Weekly here.