Equality, Diversity & Inclusion at Arthur Cox
Our successes, our culture and our history are all built on our people. One team working together for a common purpose to provide a positive, enabling and empowering environment for all.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) has been a fundamental priority for us here at Arthur Cox for many years. It is central to the culture and ethos of the firm.
Our mission is to be a firm where our differences are supported and embraced and where all of our people feel like they belong and can fulfil their potential. We have made much progress on this important work over the years but recognise that there is still a considerable amount to do to build on these foundations. Making progress in this area is not just about being diverse, it is also about including everyone and making everyone feel that they belong. What it boils down to is giving everyone equality of opportunity in the firm.
Our EDI sponsoring partners are Louise O’Byrne and Patrick Horan, who lead the firm’s efforts in implementing an inclusive work environment.
EDI is important to us because:
- It encourages and inspires our people to reach their full potential
- It makes our firm stronger and better
- It creates a safe space for innovation by having different viewpoints
- It is the right thing to do.
In recent years, we have further developed our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) initiatives, and have focused our efforts on making meaningful progress on our objectives and priorities through four pillars:
Gender
The firm prioritises gender balance by supporting the career progression of women to leadership positions through sponsorship and mentoring programmes, maternity coaching, targeted networking events and bespoke training sessions.
A number of years ago, we set ourselves the goal of increasing the percentage of female partners to 40% by 2028. We have surpassed this goal in 2024, with 41% of our overall partnership being female. Since 2019, we have also had a 30% gender quota in place for both of the firm’s principal committees, the Management Committee and the Policy Committee.
LGBTQ+
Our LGBTQ+ firm network alliance fosters an inclusive and open environment through training, networking, and events. The network collaborates with external organisations like the OUTLaw Network, which promotes LGBTQ+ diversity across the Irish legal profession, and TENI (Transgender Equality Network Ireland) to empower LGBTQ+ professionals and support their unique challenges in the legal field.
The network emphasises allyship and works to provide a supportive community for those on their coming-out journey.
Race and ethnicity
The firm’s race and ethnicity committee Embrace focuses on ensuring people from diverse backgrounds feel they belong. The committee runs several successful initiatives such as the Embrace Book Club, Advance, a mentorship programme for university students from minority groups who are interested in a career in law, and the Arthur Cox UCC Law Scholarships, supporting students who face economic and societal barriers in their studies.
Another critical part of our EDI strategy is retaining, supporting and developing our minority colleagues. Our reverse mentoring programme gives senior leaders in the firm, including our Managing Partner, an opportunity to listen to the experiences and ideas of their mentees.
Disability and neurodiversity
We recognise the unique perspectives brought by individuals with disabilities and neurodiversity, and our newly launched neurodiversity and disability committee has been established to foster an inclusive workplace with a compassionate culture, clear accommodation policies, an inclusive physical environment, accessible communication, and data-driven strategies to attract diverse talent.
The committee is focused on working across the firm to create educational programmes for staff, as well as partnering with disability and neurodiversity organisations in order to enhance understanding and acceptance, including informative workshops with support from AsIAm – Ireland’s Autism Charity.
Gender Pay Gap Reporting
The Gender Pay Gap shows the difference in the average hourly rate of pay between men and women in an organisation, expressed as a percentage of average male earnings. This is different to equal pay, which is the legal requirement to pay men and women equally for the same work.
2023 was the second year in which we reported on our gender pay gap statistics. As with last year, our goal with this report is to be transparent about where the gaps exist, and to share our action plans that will help close these gaps in the future. In the last 12 months, we have further enhanced our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy as part of our commitment to improving the representation of women in senior positions in Arthur Cox, and to foster a culture of inclusion across all aspects of our business.We have chosen the snapshot date of 30 June for the purposes of our 2023 reporting requirements, and you can read our 2023 Gender Pay Gap Report by clicking here.
Our 2022 Gender Pay Gap Report can be viewed by clicking here.
Law Society of Ireland Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) Charter
Arthur Cox is proud to be a signatory to the Law Society of Ireland’s GEDI Charter. The signatories to this Charter commit to treating all individuals and groups of individuals fairly and equally and no less favourably, specific to their needs, in areas of gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, race, class, disability or membership of the Traveller Community. As such, signatories will:
- Recognise the individual needs of those they employ and support them to develop to their full potential.
- Ensure equal access to opportunities for those they employ.
- Ensure their policies, procedures and processes promote gender equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Carry out their work without bias, in a respectful and non-discriminatory manner.
- Build awareness and understanding of the benefits of promoting gender equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Assign responsibility for meeting the Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Charter commitments to a named senior partner or member of staff. Signatories are encouraged to publish details of the senior leader who is accountable for the Charter commitments on your website or intranet.
Learn more about the GEDI Charter here.
Why work with us
When you join Arthur Cox LLP, you will work with lawyers who are the Irish leaders in commercial law. You will work on the largest, most complex, and innovative transactions in Ireland and become part of a team of highly respected experts.
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