Page 17 - Plesner CSR UK 2018

Women & Career Flexibility is the way forward
PLESNER IS COMMITTED TO BREAKING THE MALE DOMINANCE OF OWNERSHIP SO THAT MORE WOMEN AIM FOR PARTNERSHIPS.
Equal gender representation at senior man- agement level is still a rarity. Particularly in large Danish and international law firms, female partners are few and far between. We would like to change that. We are firmly of the opinion that change must take place gradually through a sustained focus and be- lief that the future battle for talent will be won by those who demonstrate flexibility.
There is more than one way forward. Companies need to be flexible and offer multiple career paths.
“We want to give everyone with the requisite professional and business skills the opportu- nity to become a partner at Plesner – irrespec- tive of gender. However, we are not in favour of quotas and would rather improve condi- tions for talented female lawyers who appear on course to meet our partnership require- ments, so they stay with us and eventually become partners”, says Niklas Korsgaard, Partner with responsibility for Plesner’s Women & Career programme.
With that end in view, Plesner is working steadily to identify the kind of flexibility that will open the door to more female partners.
Throughout the reporting period, we regu- larly invited our target group of female tal-
ent to luncheons centred around a number of relevant themes. The purpose was to dis- cuss the particular challenges that women face in the course of their careers and to identify potential solutions. Internal and external speakers were invited to several of these luncheons to inspire or challenge our thinking on women and careers by drawing on current research or their own experi- ence.
Partnership with maternity/paternity network
During these luncheons, some recent mothers expressed a wish for work-related inspiration during their maternity leave.
In January 2018, we therefore formed a partnership with Inspired Beyond Babies (IBB) - a professional network for men and women wishing to develop their profes- sional capabilities and strengthen their net- works while on maternity/paternity leave.
The network focuses on professional up- skilling and continuing education through workshops, knowledge sharing and lec- tures by specialists, prominent business professionals and interest groups. This ensures that employees return to work with renewed energy and motivation – ready to implement the lessons learnt.
READ MORE ABOUT PLESNERS SOCIAL RESPONSINBILITY