Page 18 - Plesner CSR UK 2018

Mentoring scheme popular among female talents
Based on the feedback received from our female talents, we initiated additional men- toring programmes during the reporting period.
A key benefit of mentoring programmes is that you can test and investigate your ideas of reality. Entering a mentor-mentee rela- tionship, sharing challenges, dilemmas and concerns with a more experienced person, can therefore often be a career booster.
Plesner’s mentoring scheme targeting female talent dates back to spring 2014. Inspired by the strong interest shown in the scheme and the positive feedback from completed programmes, Plesner applied in 2016 for permission to extend the scheme available to our female lawyers. A number of female lawyers are currently in a mentor- ing scheme. We are very pleased that the Ministry of Justice granted us permission to extend the mentoring scheme for five years until 2021.
Greater focus on early development
The feedback received from our female talents has also inspired us to increase our focus on early talent development.
“We are working to give our talents feedback on their development potential at an even earlier stage. This will allow us to give them better and more timely support so they can qualify for the career they wish to pursue”, says Niklas Korsgaard.
Niklas Korsgaard believes we need to break down mental and structural barriers:
“We’ve come a long way through the past year’s many inspirational meetings and have definitively broken down the taboos. We now have a team of women who help each other see opportunities rather than barriers.”
Much of the problem is cultural and cannot be changed overnight. However, there is
a growing realisation that we face a chal- lenge, and Plesner is fully committed to making career paths more flexible.
Niklas Korsgaard notes that Plesner has a large number of female talents at the mo- ment – and that the firm is committed to retaining them:
“We are currently assessing how to make structural adjustments in order to smooth the path for more female partners. While
we do not intend to lower our qualification requirements, we need to demonstrate some flexibility on the road to partnership. Much of this rests on being able to say that this can be done.”