Coleman Greig Lawyers is proud to announce its official recognition as Australia's first law firm to achieve White Ribbon Workplace Accreditation, as of February 2019.
White Ribbon Workplace Accreditation recognises the efforts of organisations who take active steps to end violence against women, a cause that Coleman Greig continues to show 100% commitment to with its zero-tolerance stance towards violence of any kind.
This industry-first achievement was recently announced at Coleman Greig's Women in Business International Women's Day forum, attended by President of the NSW Law Society Elizabeth Espinosa, who said:
"I congratulate Coleman Greig for taking the lead in recognising and advocating for both a balanced workplace and a balanced profession, something that benefits us all. This Accreditation engenders a whole-of organisation commitment to creating a safe and respectful workplace.
Every person and organisation can play a role in forging gender parity in the workplace, balance is not just a women's issue, as we know – it's also a business issue."
This official Accreditation which lasts for 3 years has come about as the result of over 18 months of work undertaken by the firm's White Ribbon Committee, with efforts looking to specifically address 15 in-depth assessment criteria which fall under 3 broader standards, as set out by White Ribbon Australia.
A wide range of internal changes have now been implemented pertaining to areas such as specific resource allocation, ongoing internal communications focused on raising awareness, the introduction of specific workplace policies, updated and increased security measures across each of the firm's three office locations, and in-depth firm-wide training specifically relating to the wide-reaching detrimental effects of violence against women.
On achieving this Workplace Accreditation, Warrick McLean, Coleman Greig's CEO said:
"Ending violence against women is an incredibly important issue for us here at Coleman Greig – one which we are proud to publicly show our strong and ongoing support for. As Western Sydney's leading law firm, and as an organisation with over seventy-percent female employees, we felt a real responsibility to show our commitment to White Ribbon ideals by achieving Accreditation through the organisation's Workplace Program."
Coleman Greig's achievement surrounding this White Ribbon Workplace Accreditation is aligned with the firm's position as an equal-opportunity employer.
Coleman Greig is proud to say that:
- 42% of the firm's leaders are women;
- 66% of our Associates and Senior Associates are women;
- 74% of our employees are women;
- 50% of our management team is made up of women; and
- The Chair of the firm's Board of Directors is a woman.
"I am truly proud to be part of a firm that both recognises the issue of violence against women and is genuinely committed to keeping a dialogue going. Unfortunately, as a family lawyer I see the result of family violence, in all its forms, everyday – with the reality being that it is far more prevalent than people sometimes realise. Violence against women exists in various forms and is sometimes hard to recognise at first instance – one of the reasons that appropriate workplace policies and ongoing training are so incredibly important."
– Karina Ralston, Principal Lawyer within Coleman Greig's Family Law team.
For further information on the White Ribbon Workplace Accreditation program, please visit the White Ribbon Australia website.
