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International Women’s Day 2023

In Conversation with our ExCom Gender Champions on International Women’s Day

As part of our firm strategy, we are committed to embracing DEI. Our senior leadership team on our Executive Committee are at the heart of our DEI efforts, with each ExCom member championing at least one of our 6 priority diversity strands (gender, LGBT+, social mobility, race & ethnicity, age & life stage and diversabilities).

In advance of International Women's Day (8 March), for which the theme this year is #EmbraceEquity, we interviewed our ExCom Gender Champions: Aedamar Comiskey, Senior Partner and Chair, Sophie Mathur, Regional Practice Head Asia Corporate, and Andreas Steck, Regional Managing Partner Europe. We explored what equity means to them and how they have embraced our equitable initiatives

Find out what they had to say below. 

 

 

What does equity mean to you and how have
you supported equitable initiatives in the firm?


 

Senior Partner and ExCom Gender Champion

"Equity for me is all about levelling the playing field and celebrating our differences. Making sure our culture provides everyone with the best opportunity to maximise their potential. Given we all have different strengths and weaknesses, we need to support people in different ways to enable them to succeed. I am proud of our global equitable initiatives and am delighted to be a sponsor of our Women's Leadership Programme and our INSPIRE Programme. As a mentor and sponsor to many female colleagues through both formal programmes and informally in the day-to-day, I’m keen to play my part and share my experience to bring others through. I want to see our diverse talent around every table, including at the most senior level, so we have different perspectives to solve the most complex problems and set ourselves up in the best way to succeed."

Regional Practice Head and ExCom Gender Champion

"Equity means that people should be supported to their own needs. Everyone is different and therefore so are their needs. Mentoring is a form of equitable initiative. I have mentored a number of women across the firm throughout my time at Linklaters. Mentoring doesn’t have to be formal. Sometimes I don’t even realize I am “mentoring” – I have a habit of giving unsolicited advice! Mentoring is essentially sharing knowledge and your own learnings and experiences. Sometimes knowing that they are not alone in their experiences is the most useful thing a mentee can gain. The most valuable mentor-mentee relationships grow over time and can evolve into peer-to-peer relationships."

Regional Managing Partner and ExCom Gender Champion

"Equity is different from equality. I firmly believe that by establishing and embracing equitable initiatives at Linklaters, we are enabling our people to perform at their best and reach their full potential. I have enjoyed acting as sponsor to women in the firm – both formally through the Women’s Leadership Program and also more informally. Sponsoring to me involves more than mentoring and sharing experience/knowledge. As a sponsor, I have advocated for women and expanded their visibility within the firm by seeking to directly involve them in experiences that will provide opportunities for their career advancement."

To find out more about DEI at Linklaters

Visit our hub

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