PRESS / SPEECHES

The Executive Committee of the Women Lawyer’s Association of NSW (WLANSW) has adopted the theme of “Leadership” for the activities, initiatives and events of WLANSW for 2016.

“On behalf of our members, our colleagues in the legal profession, and members of the broader community, WLANSW calls on law firms, organisations and professional associations to tackle the leadership challenges of harnessing the benefits of genuine diversity in the workplace in 2016,” says Lee-May Saw, President of WLANSW.

Strong, courageous and authentic leadership on diversity in an agile market requires:
• Action on issues affecting women lawyers, diversity and unconscious bias in the workplace.
• Disruption of traditional business and workplace structures and mindsets, and advancement of issues impacting on workplace culture, flexibility in the workplace, part-time work, parental leave, equitable allocation of work internally and externally within firms and organisations, equitable briefing, and the gender pay gap, including advancement of initiatives targeting flexible work arrangements for men and career progression of men working flexibly.
• Engagement of WLANSW members, partnering organisations, sponsors, and lawyers across various sectors of the legal profession with WLANSW in addressing diversity, unconscious bias and workplace initiatives.

2016 will see WLANSW implement the second stage of its Career Intentions Project involving interviews of 50 law graduates who participated in the initial survey released each university semester from semester 1 2013 to semester 1 2015.

WLANSW is also set to continue and develop its Law Firm Comparison Data project which collates important data about where law firms are up to in addressing gender equality in the workplace.

The WLANSW calendar of events for 2016 will open with a cocktail event on Thursday 25th February 2016, 6pm at the Union University & Schools Club Sydney, with Katie Malyon, award-winning immigration lawyer and Member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, speaking about her perspective on work-life balance, Getting the WooW Factor™. This event will launch WLANSW’s 2016 theme of “Leadership”. WLANSW subcommittees for the year will be announced to members and guests on this occasion.

For further information and enquiries, please contact Kathryn McKenzie, Executive Officer, at executive@womenlawyersnsw.org.au or on 0466 157 087.