Law firms across the country have signed a Gender Equality Charter aimed at tackling the under-representation of women in senior firm positions.
Photo: 123rf
The voluntary charter, launched by the Law Society last month, commits firms to conduct unconscious bias training, annual gender pay audits, actively improve gender equality and reporting the progress to the Law Society every two years.
President of the Law Society, Kathryn Beck said the number of firms who have committed to the charter, 32, is significant.
"People are taking the decision to sign up quite seriously. If they're a partnership, they're discussing it at partnership level and making a considered and thoughtful decision about it, which is good as it does require true commitment," she said.
But only 1.57% of the 2027 law firms nationwide have signed up to the charter in the first month.
Ms Beck says she expects this number to increase as local branches start to promote the charter.
Zindels Barristers and Solicitors in Nelson is one of the signatories.
An associate, Hannah Cuthill said it was a fantastic feeling when the firm signed the charter.
But she was left disappointed after attending a course for lawyers joining partnerships or creating their own firm, run by the Law Society, and there was no mention of the charter, she said.
"These are people who are supposedly the future leaders of our profession and yet there's no formal training being given, still.
"Perhaps it's that there's been a delay for it to filter through but, the people who you'd want to hit, I assume are the people going into partnership who have a chance to make some changes and they're not being formally trained at this point in time," she said.
Ms Cuthill has contacted the Law Society about her concerns.
