The New Zealand Law Society and its legal education provider NZLS CLE Ltd have published a booklet which provides four approaches to working towards gender diversity in law firms.

The booklet, Working Towards Gender Diversity in NZ Law Firms: Four practical approaches to achieving change, may be freely downloaded. It contains four papers presented at a day-long conference earlier in 2016. The conference, held in Auckland and Wellington, focused on strategies for moving towards greater gender diversity in the legal profession.

The Wellington conference was livestreamed, and NZLS CLE Ltd has made videos of all sessions available for viewing. This may be accessed here.

While women now make up over 48% of all New Zealand lawyers and 60% of new lawyers each year, they comprise just 26.8% of partners and directors.

The papers which are included in the booklet are:

Effective strategies to encourage progression of women in senior roles, by Michelle Dixon, Partner and CEO, Maddocks, Melbourne, Australia.

The challenge of promoting diversity, by Andrew Poole, Chief Executive, Chapman Tripp, Auckland.

Changing law firm culture - Be the change, by Ngaroma Tahana, Solicitor, Gordon and Pilditch, Rotorua.

Turning the tide to make more women law partners in New Zealand, by Stacey Shortall, Partner, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, Wellington.

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