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Back in 2018, four women associates at Freshfields sought to address a question that was coming up time and time again – ‘I am obviously very supportive of gender equality, but how can I help in practice?’
With this in mind, the Every Day Gender Equality (EDGE) initiative was created. This asks colleagues to commit to ten everyday actions that they can take to improve our culture of equality and inclusion within the firm.
In order to make EDGE truly impactful, it soon became clear that we needed collective buy-in from our entire network and to support all aspects of diversity and inclusion. This led to a global consultation, where input and views were sought from many different parts of the firm – both through direct engagement with leadership in each of our offices and ‘on the ground’ focus group discussions. We wanted EDGE to reflect these diverse views, so following feedback from these sessions the initial draft of EDGE was revised.
The launch in November 2018 was marked with a firmwide event and a video in which partners discussed the importance of the initiative and actions they would take to ensure its successful implementation. Since its launch, 2,500 colleagues have signed up, demonstrating consensus on the need for greater action towards diverse representation.
EDGE itself is based on the idea that small practical changes can collectively make a big difference to our firm-wide culture. The actions enshrined within EDGE were chosen on the basis that they were straightforward, easy to understand and essentially ‘doable’.
For example, EDGE includes a commitment to be aware of inclusive behaviours and to act in a way which allows everyone to participate and be heard, without being interrupted. We achieve this by giving everyone the opportunity to speak in meetings, not talking over people and making sure that all voices can be heard (not just the loudest).
In addition to actions with an internal focus, EDGE promotes actions that extend its impact outside the firm. In 2019, for example, we rolled out a speed-networking programme for female barristers and for male and female lawyers from Freshfields. The events were designed to ensure that our lawyers develop connections with as broad a range of barristers as possible and to encourage chambers to present a more diverse list.
EDGE also includes a commitment that our colleagues can request that conferences (both internal and external) have a gender balanced panel and can refuse to attend where the panel of speakers lacks diverse voices. This empowers colleagues to raise issues in relation to gender equity with conference organisers, with the collective support of the firm, and gives them the confidence to generate new ideas that can also inspire measurable change.
Achieving gender equity has been a key focus for many years and is part of our global diversity and inclusion (D&I) strategy. Employee networks play a vital part in this and, over recent years, we have seen our networks evolve from small social groups to larger structured groups with clear goals and priorities for the firm to focus on.
EDGE was a prime early example of this – a colleague-led initiative which has had a direct impact on the culture of the firm. Fast forward to today, we have over 15 employee networks across the firm. These networks help to attract and retain talent, and empower our people to bring their whole selves to work. We also encourage everyone to participate as allies to build empathy, demonstrate inclusive behaviours and learn more.
Our employee networks have grown markedly. Not only do they provide support for colleagues but are an invaluable source of feedback and insight, helping us to evolve our D&I and people strategy. Here are just a few examples:
The firm’s global leadership team recognises that employee voice and engagement is key to strengthening our inclusive culture. In addition to EDGE, our ‘Being Freshfields’ principles provide a framework to guide internal standards of behaviour and to be clear about our expectations of each other. These were developed for our people by our people, as part of a global conversation about what defines our culture. Feedback was collated from colleagues from across all practice groups and departments, and from every office across the world. Similarly, ‘Freshfields’ purpose and values’ are a set of principles which encourage a diverse and inclusive working environment and ensure there is a clear vision for the future of the firm.
All these principles have now been embedded into everyday practices across the firm, including in recruitment, performance reviews and reward. We have also included reference to behaviours as part of our annual senior leaders 360 feedback process.
Much like the Bar, we recognise that what makes us unique is our people. It is our people, of all levels and across all offices, who are instrumental in driving our culture internally. We don’t see culture as an initiative that a team or network can drive – it is about all of us collectively working and learning together to create meaningful and lasting change.
Chantelle Nicholas is a Senior Associate in the People & Reward team and co-founder of EDGE at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. She is also a member of the firm’s London Women’s Network.
Jenny Leahy is a partner in the antitrust, competition and trade practice and cofounder of EDGE at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. She is also a member of the firm’s London Women’s Network.
Rachel Brooks is Global Diversity and Inclusion Engagement Manager at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and sits on the Committee for the Gender Equality Network (GEN).
Back in 2018, four women associates at Freshfields sought to address a question that was coming up time and time again – ‘I am obviously very supportive of gender equality, but how can I help in practice?’
With this in mind, the Every Day Gender Equality (EDGE) initiative was created. This asks colleagues to commit to ten everyday actions that they can take to improve our culture of equality and inclusion within the firm.
In order to make EDGE truly impactful, it soon became clear that we needed collective buy-in from our entire network and to support all aspects of diversity and inclusion. This led to a global consultation, where input and views were sought from many different parts of the firm – both through direct engagement with leadership in each of our offices and ‘on the ground’ focus group discussions. We wanted EDGE to reflect these diverse views, so following feedback from these sessions the initial draft of EDGE was revised.
The launch in November 2018 was marked with a firmwide event and a video in which partners discussed the importance of the initiative and actions they would take to ensure its successful implementation. Since its launch, 2,500 colleagues have signed up, demonstrating consensus on the need for greater action towards diverse representation.
EDGE itself is based on the idea that small practical changes can collectively make a big difference to our firm-wide culture. The actions enshrined within EDGE were chosen on the basis that they were straightforward, easy to understand and essentially ‘doable’.
For example, EDGE includes a commitment to be aware of inclusive behaviours and to act in a way which allows everyone to participate and be heard, without being interrupted. We achieve this by giving everyone the opportunity to speak in meetings, not talking over people and making sure that all voices can be heard (not just the loudest).
In addition to actions with an internal focus, EDGE promotes actions that extend its impact outside the firm. In 2019, for example, we rolled out a speed-networking programme for female barristers and for male and female lawyers from Freshfields. The events were designed to ensure that our lawyers develop connections with as broad a range of barristers as possible and to encourage chambers to present a more diverse list.
EDGE also includes a commitment that our colleagues can request that conferences (both internal and external) have a gender balanced panel and can refuse to attend where the panel of speakers lacks diverse voices. This empowers colleagues to raise issues in relation to gender equity with conference organisers, with the collective support of the firm, and gives them the confidence to generate new ideas that can also inspire measurable change.
Achieving gender equity has been a key focus for many years and is part of our global diversity and inclusion (D&I) strategy. Employee networks play a vital part in this and, over recent years, we have seen our networks evolve from small social groups to larger structured groups with clear goals and priorities for the firm to focus on.
EDGE was a prime early example of this – a colleague-led initiative which has had a direct impact on the culture of the firm. Fast forward to today, we have over 15 employee networks across the firm. These networks help to attract and retain talent, and empower our people to bring their whole selves to work. We also encourage everyone to participate as allies to build empathy, demonstrate inclusive behaviours and learn more.
Our employee networks have grown markedly. Not only do they provide support for colleagues but are an invaluable source of feedback and insight, helping us to evolve our D&I and people strategy. Here are just a few examples:
The firm’s global leadership team recognises that employee voice and engagement is key to strengthening our inclusive culture. In addition to EDGE, our ‘Being Freshfields’ principles provide a framework to guide internal standards of behaviour and to be clear about our expectations of each other. These were developed for our people by our people, as part of a global conversation about what defines our culture. Feedback was collated from colleagues from across all practice groups and departments, and from every office across the world. Similarly, ‘Freshfields’ purpose and values’ are a set of principles which encourage a diverse and inclusive working environment and ensure there is a clear vision for the future of the firm.
All these principles have now been embedded into everyday practices across the firm, including in recruitment, performance reviews and reward. We have also included reference to behaviours as part of our annual senior leaders 360 feedback process.
Much like the Bar, we recognise that what makes us unique is our people. It is our people, of all levels and across all offices, who are instrumental in driving our culture internally. We don’t see culture as an initiative that a team or network can drive – it is about all of us collectively working and learning together to create meaningful and lasting change.
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