What does embrace equity mean to you?

Embracing equity to me means championing diversity in all its myriad forms. It’s about speaking out but also knowing when to simply stay quiet and actively listen. It’s about welcoming difference rather than being suspicious of it; being open and curious and putting yourself in the other person’s shoes.  It means challenging accepted norms, and recognising unconscious bias and privilege in ourselves (which can be the uncomfortable bit). We’ve come a long way – at least on the gender equality front – but progress is slow and there is always going to be so much more that could be done on an individual and collective level to help build a more representative, inclusive and equitable society. Let’s stay focused and continue the work.

What does embrace equity mean to you?

To me #EmbraceEquity encompasses different ways in which I try to be an inclusive leader for my team. #EmbraceEquity means assisting to create the same opportunities for everybody and enabling them to exploit their abilities to thrive, irrespectively of their background and circumstances. I try to live and embrace equity in my day-to-day life by changing the little things that matter to me: I make sure to call out unconscious bias when noticing it and I take the time to explain why it is wrong. I try to identify the individual needs of the members of my team and I make sure to support them according to their needs to give each of them the opportunity to develop according to their individual skills and potential. I endeavour to be truly inclusive and #EmbraceEquity in my behaviour by raising my voice for others when I see that they are being treated unfairly.

What does embrace equity mean to you?

When I think about Embracing Equity, I think about how important it is to accept people as they are, to value their voices, and to advocate for their right to participate fully in civic and public life.  As an international trade attorney, I think especially of how important it is that women be able to participate fully in the global economy and marketplace.

Trade doesn’t just move goods. Trade funnels ideas, innovation, and technology around the globe. Trade is also a vehicle we can use to come together to solve some of our biggest collective challenges –whether it’s climate change or income inequality.  We need women to trade and participate in the global marketplace because we need their perspectives, skills, and talents for economic development and innovation.  

This is one of the reasons I’m so proud to work on the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation team at CIPE, where we’re committed to implementing trade facilitation projects in ways that empower women entrepreneurs, traders, and employees.  Embracing Equity is a cornerstone of our work.

What does embrace equity mean to you?

Embracing equity means ensuring there is justice, fairness,  and impartiality — not just that things are equal. Despite sharing the same ultimate Latin root, equity and equality have very different meanings. Equity means “justice” or “rightness” and connotes “fairness” while “equality” means things being “identical” or “equal”.  On International Women’s Day, we must strive not for equality but for equity in all aspects of politics, society, and economics. Embracing this concept means that as we look at employment and financial distribution, there must be a sense of equity applied to women.  Wages must be equitable, workloads must be equitable, and support systems must be equitable.  Historic injustices, unfairness, and wrongful actions may require more than just leveling the playing field.  By embracing equity, we can make a difference so that one day we have true equality for the sexes and races, but until then, we need to focus on equity and not just seek equality.

What does embrace equity mean to you?

“Embrace equity” means complete parity to me in terms of treatment, opportunity, and expectation. It means, for instance, no distinctions made between parents and non-parents, or between carers and non-carers. It means making the necessary technological and logistical modifications to render the current distinctions illusory, and it means a complete evolution of attitude, away from the where and how of work towards the purity of what. It means revolutionary thinking: more firms started by women, and governed by a majority of women, and for this to be a normal, rather than the radical suggestion it sounds like now; working patterns tailored to individual workers; a liberation of productivity from the anachronistic ties of industrial space and time. If we were to design the world of work today, we would not start where we are now.  Embracing equity means having the courage to start again. 

What does embrace equity mean to you?

Embracing equity, in my opinion, requires recognising diversity and understanding first what equity means and how it differs from equality.

At Van Bael & Bellis, I am proud to be part of a very diverse team of talented lawyers and staff from over 20 countries with a shared understanding of the value of and the need to support and promote equity.

Based on my experience and exchanges with colleagues, I would like to share three personal observations on why and how to embrace equity.

First, in professional life, equity is not only about the needs of employees, but also about the benefits for the employer: creating a fair and equitable working environment helps discovering and tapping on hidden potential and talents. Ultimately, an equitable working environment creates a comparative advantage for employers. Embracing equity is thus no longer a question of why or whether but of how to do it most effectively.

Second, an institutional framework to promote equity constitutes an important foundation, but may not have the desirable practical impact unless each of us makes use of that framework. For example, our Social Responsibility and Diversity (SRD) Committee assists in developing diversity and inclusion programmes, but is also a focal point for collecting ideas from the team and translating them into concrete initiatives. Active individual engagement thus creates more awareness of the different individual and collective needs and helps to address those needs more effectively.

And, last but not least, leadership and mentorship at all levels of seniority, vis-à-vis our peers and our junior colleagues, play a very important role in embracing equity. Ultimately, there are few things that are more rewarding than supporting your colleagues in realising their potential and succeeding.

What does embrace equity mean to you?

I was appointed by the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in 2020 as the first female President of the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) since its foundation in 1926, and feel a duty to also use my role to empower the future generation. 

As an independent, intergovernmental organisation, with 63 Member States representing the words main economies, 73.6% of the world population, and 90.7% of global nominal GDP, we see diversity and inclusivity, as a matter of principle, a key tool to develop modern standards for commercial law and internationally harmonised solutions. With a heightened advocacy for female empowerment and inclusion, our governing bodies have fully grasped the need for a female representation in decision making, and this approach has greatly facilitated quite an organic integration process, which can only improve over time.

I invite the future generation of women to strive for excellence in the field of comparative and commercial law, and am proud to lead an intergovernmental organisation where their qualities will be nurtured and shine. We shall continue to strive for diversity and inclusivity in fulfilling our mandate, which can only add to the value of our instruments.

What does embrace equity mean to you?

Embracing equity means giving people the opportunities and resources to balance their definition of “being a professional” with firm culture. 

I have thrived the most in environments that empowered me.  Given the intersectionality of identity, empowerment looks different to everyone.  However, an effective starting point seems to be flexible policies, combined with institutional safeguards.  While these are relatively well-established, it’s always worth highlighting a few. 

Leadership should create space for members to express themselves on the development of the firm, including direction and values.  Mentorship programs should provide guidance on daily work and overall career development.  Mental and physical health policies should destigmatise, and provide for, as wide a variety of needs as possible.  Training programs should include having difficult conversations and managing bias.  Perhaps more controversially given the polarised state of politics, I also believe leadership should formally recognise events within society that particularly impact certain members of our professional community. 

Ultimately, change requires institutional commitment and real investment.  Over the years, I have appreciated examples of leaders who both reflect aspects of my identity and seem to have a life that I’d want to live.  I hope that, as the dialogue around equity continues, we will all have more of those examples.