International Women's Day

International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated annually on 8th March, with this year’s theme being #EachforEqual. As well as an opportunity to recognise the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, it is a global call to action to do more to make progress.

In the lead up to the day, our London and Birmingham offices held their first female-focused networking events (“In Her Shoos”) for clients and contacts. In London, a Q&A session with Dame Elizabeth Gloster (the first woman to be appointed a judge of the Commercial Court). In Birmingham, a “Good Guys” collaboration with the Institute for the Inclusion of Legal Professionals and the National Conference of Women’s Bar Association – a discussion to specifically look at men’s role in advancing gender equality.

During the week of the 9th March, activities included;

• Colleagues being encouraged to wear the suffragette colours (purple, white and green);
• A lunchtime session discussing how things have changed for women over the years (in Birmingham);
• A coffee and cake morning in Nottingham;
• Listening to and discussing Ted Talks in Thames Valley and Manchester
• Colleagues being asked to share what ‘each for equal’ means to them. (Why not post your commitment on social media alongside a photo of you doing the ‘each for equal pose!’);
• A panel discussion featuring female leaders from the Edinburgh office.

Rachael McCallum, one of the Edinburgh event organisers, said: “We opened our session with a Sheryl Sandberg TED talk which was great for starting the conversation. We then had a panel discussion with some of our female leaders, covering all sorts of topics – how they’ve navigated their careers to date, how they’ve developed their leadership ability, and advice for managing a work life balance. We were really pleased to see a mix of male and female attendees in the room too!”