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International Women's Day

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International Women's Day provides an opportunity to showcase our commitment to gender equality, share new initiatives and actions, celebrate colleague's achievements, and raise awareness.

The theme of International Women's Day 2024 was #InspiringInclusion

Events and initiatives DWF colleagues took part in for IWD 2024

These initiatives were designed and open for all colleagues to join and build greater awareness of gender equality. 

Collaborations

'In conversation with…' interview series: A series of Q&A webinars with diverse women created by 5 Star Futures including contributions from Caroline Colliston - Executive Partner Scotland, DWF; Beth Casey - ESG Manager, Inflexion; Kirsty Rogers - Chief Sustainability Officer, DWF; Louise Rogerson - Chief People Officer, DWF and Seema Bains - Partner and Head of Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Group, DWF.

Watch the Q&A webinars

Diverse Career Journeys: Inspirational colleagues from DWF and Aviva shared insights on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and advice in overcoming barriers. Guest speakers included Waseem Malik – Chief Claims Officer, Aviva; Nicola Sheils – Technical Claims Director, Aviva; Stefan Paciorek – Global Head of Dispute Resolution, DWF and Harriet Quiney – Partner - Legal Services, DWF.

The event was chaired by Seema Bains and included an introduction from Nigel Teasdale (DWF Commercial Director - Insurance Legal Services). 

Inspiring Women and Allies: Amazon and DWF's gender networks collaborated on a hybrid breakfast event showcasing the career journeys of successful women and allies championing greater gender equality.

Local events

Manchester: For our Inspiring Inclusion and Allyship event, Kirsty Rogers was joined by psychologist & allyship specialist Lee Chambers to chair a panel discussion exploring the role of male allies in creating greater gender inclusion in the workplace. Panellist included Paul Corcoran - Chief Executive, Agent; Paul Taylor - Associate General Counsel, Manchester United and Naveen Gupta - Partner, DWF

Liverpool: Colleagues in our Liverpool office came together to take a Women's History Walking Tour, designed to celebrate inspirational women in the city.

London: Colleagues in our London office came together to raise money for charities and celebrate diverse women. Speakers included female role models from Venezuela, Ukraine, Angola,

Poland and France: Sharing information on their career and qualification journeys.

Southampton: A discussion was held around the Inspiring Inclusion theme with team members completing pledge cards.

Belfast: Colleagues came together for a lunchtime event focused on women's health with a speaker from a local breast cancer charity. 

Poland: Colleagues in Poland welcomed an external speaker to share information on the concept of burnout, what it is and how we can avoid it.

Munich: As a tradition a flower was left on the desk of women as a token of appreciation.

Australia: DWF were proud to sponsor an International Women's Day Women in Insurance event.  

UK / North America / India: Virtual coffee meet up across our international delivery centres focused how inspirational women have shaped colleagues career pathways.

India: Julia Perez hosted "Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress", discussing how investing in women helps in accelerating progress of the organization.

New initiatives & resources introduced in 2023/2024

For International Women's Day 2024 DWF published a special addition of the weekly all colleague Digest including a video from Hilary Ross (UK&I Regional Managing Partner) and Matt Doughty (CEO Insurance Services) sharing details on what International Women’s Day means to them, our business and our clients, plus an article from Paul Rimmer (CEO of Commercial Services) sharing his thoughts on the importance of gender equality for the legal services industry.  It also included a statement from CEO Sir Nigel Knowles. An excerpt is included below:
 
'While we recognise there is still more work to do across all elements of Diversity and Inclusion, we can also be encouraged by the successes we have seen in recent years such as the powerful conversations we have had about menopause, the improvements we have made to our parental policies and all of the ways in which our colleagues globally continue to further the conversation around gender equality."
 

Initiatives designed to create better gender balance in 2023/24 include: 

Previous IWD events at DWF

2023

The theme of 2023's International Women's Day was #EmbraceEquity

Events our colleagues attended during IWD 2023

Being Your Best You: Authentic Leadership & Diversity Event. In a collaboration with HSBC, DWF held an event to explore how leading in alignment with your values and overcoming your limiting beliefs enables colleagues to bring their authentic self to the workplace. 

International Women's Day Breakfast event with clients in our Brisbane office including a panel discussion with Dr Prue Fitzpatrick, Dr Ghazala Watt and Her Honour Judge Suzanne Sheridan. 

Morning wellness session attended by our colleagues in Poland  who celebrated International Women's Day with a an inspirational speech by Aneta Ostaszewska about the women who fought for women's rights throughout centuries, and still inspire young generations.

International Women's Day Workshop Morning in our London office aimed at colleagues at the early stages of their careers. The workshop included a yoga class followed by breakfast and a workshop on empowerment, self-expression and celebrating individuality. 

5 STAR Futures programme, aimed at year 10/11 students to build confidence and aspirations around skills and careers, held an online panel event with women leaders from DWF discussing their career journeys and experience with working in a legal business. 

International Women's Day #EmbraceEquity discussion was held in our Manchester office. All colleagues were invited to take part in an open debate on whether the theme of #EmbraceEquity goes far enough, the rate of change and how we can achieve greater equity. 

What's the Score This International Women's Day? Colleagues from our Belfast office held a lunch event that included a panel discussion hosted by Sports Correspondent at UTV, Ruth Gorman, and speakers Shirley McKay, an Ireland field hockey international, Amber Newall, a DWF solicitor and Eimear Mullan, former professional triathlete. 

In collaboration with the London Well Being Clinic, our London office created a workshop designed to reconnect colleagues with their confidence. This workshop was aimed at women moving into senior roles and looked at why we experience things like imposter syndrome, addressing the inner critical voice, and equipping participants with the tools to make an impact. 

Industry specific and intersectional events from our friends at BITC, ENEI, The Law Society, Mindful Business Charter and Carers UK have also been shared with our colleagues as well as sessions focused on girls and women in the upcoming Neurodiversity Celebration Week. 
2022

BreakTheBias: Kirsty Rogers (DWF's Head of Environmental, Social & Governance) hosted a conversation with the Government Legal Department's Treasury Solicitor, Susanna McGibbon, on her journey as only the second women to hold her role, how the Government Legal Department are improving diversity, the issues they are facing, and how we can all #BreakTheBias.

Exploring Imposter Syndrome: DWF and Enterprise Rent-a-Car delivered an interactive webinar to explore imposter syndrome and the psychology behind this phenomenon. We heard from DWF and Enterprise Rent-a-Car colleagues about their personal experiences and advice on preventing imposter syndrome. 

Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world: As part of our 5 Star Futures education programme for schools, students heard from female leaders within DWF about their career journey, the challenges they faced, and the opportunities they have had and things they wished they had known when they started their career journey.

Which fashion designers empower women more?: A virtual discussion on global fashion, cultural sensitivity and how we can #BreakTheBias: Mohab Khattab (DWF Arabia CEO) hosted a discussion with our D&I Leadership and Gender Strand Leadership groups on female led fashion in Arabia. We explored how we can empower women, build awareness and #BreakTheBias on a global scale.

Internally, our colleagues were also able to register for International Women's Day events delivered by our partners Everywoman, Bupa and Workplace Options

Watch our previous International Women's Day events

In conversation with...

In 2024 we hosted a series of Q&A webinars with women across our business, to find out more about their job role and career journey.
 
In conversation with...

Hear from inspirational women across our business as they talk openly about their career journeys. Featuring Caroline Colliston, Kirsty Rogers, Louise Rogerson and Seema Bains from DWF and Beth Casey from Inflexion.

Caroline Colliston

Beth Casey 

Kirsty Rogers

Louise Rogerson 

Seema Bains

UN Global Compact: Target Gender Equality Conference

Click here to watch Seema Bains speak at the Target Gender Equality LIVE conference on the  'Target Gender Equality, Target Ethnic Diversity' panel.
 
UN Global Compact: Target Gender Equality Conference

DWF and Enterprise Rent-A-Car: Hard Choices

In this webinar, we explored how every choice we make presents risks, but also opportunity and hope. Join colleagues at various points in their career from DWF and Enterprise Rent-A-Car who share how their hard choices have shaped who they are today. 
 
DWF and Enterprise Rent-A-Car: Hard Choices

Hosted and moderated by: Seema Bains, Partner & Head of D&I Leadership Group, DWF and Nigel Goodall, Vice President Data Strategy, ‎Enterprise Holdings, Enterprise Rent-A-Car

 

Key People

A walk in our shoes

Take a walk in the shoes of 3 women, at 3 different points in their careers and in 3 different environments. But – who are they individually?
 
A walk in our shoes

In this session we will explored the experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethnicity (BAME) women across different sectors and how we can all apply an intersectional lens to our behaviours to foster a culture of inclusion. On International Women's Day we celebrate women, and today, we celebrate BAME Women.

Join our panellists: Vivian Anumba, Senior Claims Adjuster, Canopius, Farhana Mukith, Barrister, 12 Kings Bench Walk and Amanda Amorighoye, Paralegal, DWF

Hosted and moderated by: Naveen Gupta, Partner, DWF

 
Key People

Poetry reading with Marjorie Lotfi

Marjorie Lotfi, is a poet, a seasoned performer and a facilitator of creative writing. Marjorie's poetry examines journeys and questions of belonging, particularly relating to the experiences of refugees and migrants. 
 
Poetry reading with Marjorie Lotfi

This reading will take its starting point in 1970s Tehran, with Iran on the cusp of revolution, and explores ideas of flight, journey and assimilation. Click below to listen to Marjorie's poetry intertwined with her personal experience and creative process.

 

#ChooseToChallenge Conversation

Hosted and moderated by: Kirsty Rogers, Partner and Gender Strand Co-Lead, we have assembled a panel of inspiring women who have led the way in their careers and become change makers to create a more equal, fair and just world for us all. 
 
#ChooseToChallenge Conversation

Featuring Claire Darwin, Barrister, Matrix Chambers who worked on the high profile equal pay claim against the BBC and Robin White, Barrister, Old Square Chambers who led a major step forward for the LGBTQ+ community in the recent landmark Jaguar Land Rover case that ruled 'gender is a spectrum'. 

Key People

Inspiring Women Workshop

Listen to our interactive Inspiring Women & Girls workshop where we were joined by colleagues who work in different roles across our business.
 
Inspiring Women Workshop

In this session, they shared personal experiences and their career journeys, followed by a Q&A session: Featuring Nadia Omar Solicitor, Professional Indemnity & Commercial, Mayura Mali Assistant Vice President Mindcrest University, Izabela Szczygielska Partner.

Key People

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