Hall & Wilcox named WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality in 2024
Hall & Wilcox has again been recognised with an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE) citation by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA).
The citation recognises our continuing commitment to addressing barriers to gender equality within the legal profession and for women in the law.
WGEA is an Australian Government agency charged with improving gender equality in Australian workplaces. The EOCGE citation is designed to encourage, recognise and promote active commitment to achieving gender equality in Australian workplaces.
The citation is awarded after a rigorous application process that considers our firm’s initiatives in leadership, strategy and accountability, developing a gender-balanced workforce, striving for gender pay equity, support for carers, mainstreaming flexible working, preventing gender-based harassment and discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying, and having targets for improving gender equality outcomes.
Chief Executive Partner Graydon Dowd said that, as a national commercial law firm, we recognise we have a key role to play in achieving gender equality within the legal profession.
‘Gender equality is vital because it improves productivity and attraction and retention of talent. It also reflects our clients and communities, it creates diversity of thought and improves our delivery of Smarter Law,’ he said.
‘The overall objective of gender equality is to have a firm in which women and men have equal opportunities. At the core of our Hallmarks is a commitment to help all our people thrive. A focus on gender equality benefits everyone.
‘We still have a long way to go and more to do. Our people, our clients and the community expect us to challenge and evolve to address gender equality in our profession. We are committed to doing so.’
Hall & Wilcox has been acknowledged for initiatives over the past year, including:
running our highly successful Women in Leadership program, which aims to support more women into partnership and senior leadership roles and representation at Board level;
working towards our gender targets (and, in some areas, surpassing these targets);
undertaking gender pay gap analysis;
promoting hybrid flexible working practices to support and promote gender equality for all;
supporting the Hall & Wilcox Gender Equality network to encourage discussion about gender equality in the legal profession and within our workplace;
collaborating with Women’s Agenda to deliver gender equality discussions that help to disrupt the status quo;
adopting the Law Council of Australia’s Gender Equitable Briefing Policy;
signing the Law Society of NSW’s and the Law Institute of Victoria’s Charter for the Advancement of Women in the Legal Profession; and
providing firm-funded women lawyers’ association memberships.