The list highlights ten law firms in Asia that are promoting a more inclusive workplace. Write-up by Dana MacLean

ASHURST, a global law firm headquartered in London with more than 1,450 legal experts working in 16 countries worldwide, supports diversity and inclusion within the firm through a Diversity and Advisory Group (DIAG). A 14-member committee, DIAG has a four-strand focus that aims to embed cultures of transparency and equal opportunity throughout the firm’s 27 offices. Chaired by Former Managing Partner James Collis, DIAG champions gender, LGBTI/ sexual orientation, multiculturalism, and disability and resilience through individual goal-setting, monitoring and reporting on progress towards achieving their 2018 gender targets . In 2015, 44% of new partner promotions at the ‘Silver Circle’ firm were women, while 15 percent of equity partners and 20 percent of senior managers were also female. An “Unconscious Bias” training session was conducted for Asia-based partners last year to dispel stereotypical preferences by unravelling thought processes that inadvertently lead to discrimination in the workplace. The firm also piloted a “Happy Body At Work” programme and appointed “well-being officers” during the annual October Mental Health month to ensure staff health from a holistic perspective. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong office hosted a charity screening of Freeheld, an American drama film that raises awareness of LGBTI rights in a demonstration of support for sexual minorities.

BAKER & MCKENZIE is one of the world’s largest multinational legal advisory firms globally with 12,000 staff and 77 offices — 17 of which are in 12 Asia Pacific countries. Founded in the metropolitan hub of Chicago in 1949, the firm has embedded respect for diversity and gender equality in its office culture since first opening its doors in Manila 53 years ago. The firm cultivates female leadership through a number of strategic initiatives, including professional development forums such as BakerWomen and POWER in Australia and China, respectively; The Women’s Foundation mentorship program in Hong Kong; flexible work arrangements at partner firm Wong & Leow in Singapore and support for public LGBT campaign “Toi Dong Y” for same-sex marriage in Vietnam. With policies and practices that aim to hone female talent in recruitment, promotion and supportive networks, create equal opportunities for LGBT lawyers, and establish a discrimination-free workplace through trainings and awareness-raising, Baker & McKenzie is a pioneer in championing cultural, social and gender diversity in the legal industry.

London-headquartered CLIFFORD CHANCE seeks to hire and nurture talent from sources as diverse as its ever-broadening client base, which includes businesses, regulators and governments in 10 of the Asia Pacific region’s varied cultures and markets. With a strong meritocratic culture that recognises competence regardless of gender, background or sexual orientation, This year, the firm was ranked among the top 10 UK LGBT-friendly employers by diversity bookmark Stonewall WEI. CC makes concrete efforts to counter bias and maintain an inclusive culture through awareness trainings and seminars for partners organised by the Clifford Chance Academy. Internal networks, such as the Arcus Asia Pacific Network and the Senior Associates Mentor Programme, function to enhance integration among staff, while equal policies and benefits recognise same-sex unions. The firm aims to achieve a 30 percent female partnership rate and regularly updates on its progress. Currently, the number of female partners at CC globally stands at 17 percent. Meanwhile, the number of female partners at the firm’s Asia-Pacific offices reached 25 percent last year.

DAVIS POLK & WARDWELL, which has soliciting offices in the financial hubs of Hong Kong, Beijing and Tokyo, counts diversity and inclusion as building blocks of its success. Collaboration, teamwork and a lockstep compensation system for 900-plus attorneys worldwide underpins all services that Davis Polk offers clients. Founded over 160 years ago in Manhattan, the firm says its commitment to equality is integral to its accomplishments, and it has been recognised as the first for its initiatives in more global and American capital markets than any other U.S.-based firm. Davis Polk’s mentorship programme and six affinity groups — including DPWomen, DPW Parents, DPW LGBT and DPW Asian/South Asia/Middle Eastern (ASAME) — regularly hold events to create a supportive network to enable lawyers to fulfill their potential throughout their career paths with the firm. The firm has 43 percent female lawyers in Asia, including two partners, four counsel and 33 associates. Progressive policies that include flexible work arrangements and a one-month paternity leave for new fathers contribute to the advancement and help retain staff.

Established in 2010 when Hogan & Hartson in Washington combined forces with Lovells in London, HOGAN LOVELLS is a “Magic Circle” firm specialising in litigation, corporate finance and regulatory fields. With more than 2,500 solicitors in 40 offices globally, Hogan Lovells aims to embed diversity and inclusion into the firm’s agenda by revamping its Global Diversity and Board Diversity Committees – a move that has the full backing of the firm’s International Management Committee and Board. The Global Diversity Plan 2015-2018 includes membership to leading Asia-Pacific networks, such as the Community Business-led Diversity & Inclusion in Asia Network, the Women’s Foundation and the Women in Law Network. LGBT staff receive support through regular events at the biannual regional conference in Hanoi, as well as through a network and leadership summit the firm co-hosts with HSBC Bank in Hong Kong. Hogan Lovells is ensuring that it nurtures the talent and retains female lawyers through its award-winning Breaking Barriers network, a new programme that will include work coaching for newly returned mothers and a commitment to agile working conditions to foster healthy work-life balance.

KIM & CHANG, South Korea’s largest law firm, seeks to promote gender diversity through a pro-bono initiative to teach hundreds migrant women their rights countrywide. The country, which has a population of 49 million is home to some 500,000 migrants. A lot of them are women who seek the services of a broker so they can marry a Korean citizen, making them vulnerable to domestic violence as they attempt to navigate complex immigration procedures in their new homes. Since 2014, the firm has run an ambitious education programme at its Legal Academy to teach migrant women about their rights via seminars and trainings held nationwide, including in provincial towns and rural areas outside of the capital and now in Seoul, where the firm is based. Many attorneys at Kim & Chang, which was founded in 1973, are former prosecutors and judges who have handled cases involving sexual violence, divorce, and immigration law issues, allowing them to advise women on both the civil and criminal laws that can protect them.

Based in Hong Kong and Singapore, KING & WOOD MALLESONS (KWM) represents a new breed of law firms headquartered in Asia that have a unique focus: fostering connectivity between the region and the rest of the world through cross-border commercial solutions that push the frontiers of achievement. KWM believes that diversity supports stronger outcomes and builds competitive advantages for firms operating in the “Asian Century”. It aims to empower employees through a Diversity & Inclusion Committee, which supports female leadership via the newly established Women in Law Hong Kong (WILHK) network. Other initiatives include an internship programme for persons with disabilities through the CareER charity and a Health & Well Being programe in Hong Kong that provides free counselling services to staff and their families. Flexible start and finish times as well as a nursing room for new mothers are among the flexible work policies embraced by the firm to retain female staff, who comprise 54 percent of its total legal employees.

With 3,800 lawyers in 50 cities spanning the globe, NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT works with preeminent corporate and financial institutions across a diverse array of industry sectors. The firm’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council (GDIAC), which reports to the Executive Committee four times per year, was established in December 2012 to achieve the gender target of 30 percent women on boards and as partners by 2020 as well as to establish a global pride network for LGBT staff. Programmes on the agenda in Asia include training to address unconscious bias, a Global Inclusion Week with multicultural tea times to allow the sharing of diverse cultural facets among staff, and a blog where staff can post entries to exchange insights and experiences stemming from their perspectives. Norton Rose in Asia also works with the charitable Special Olympics, including a fundraiser in which staff are encouraged to hike up Indonesia’s Mt. Rinjani to raise $10,000 for the sports charity. Women network chapters and mentorship initiatives are aimed at cultivating gender inclusion, as evidenced by a gradual rise in female partnerships over the past years to 38 percent in 2016.

SKADDEN, ARPS, SLATE, MEAGHER & FLOM employs full-time diversity and inclusion staff in a department run out of its New York City headquarters for the firm’s 23 offices around the globe. Skadden’s historically strong commitment to diversity and inclusion stems from objectives founded on the principles of equality that drive both the global diversity committee, chaired by partners Fred Goldberg, Stacy Kanter and Stephen Robinson, and committees dedicated to the cause at the regional and local offices level. Three active networks — the LGBT Affinity Network, SWELL (Skadden Women Excelling in Law and Leadership) and a Parents’ Network — provide platforms for peer mentoring, professional development and even recruitment. A steering committee led by women in Hong Kong also organises events focused on professional development and wellness throughout the year. The Flexible Return from Maternity (FMR) also assists new mothers to help them balance their workloads, culminating in a successful pro-women workplace that now has 25 female members participating in the Women’s Network in Hong Kong.

WINKLER PARTNERS, which was approved by the Taiwanese government in 2002 as the country’s first partnership between foreign and Taiwanese attorneys, celebrates diversity as one of its six core values. The Taipei-based firm is committed to live up to its “Positive, Diverse Team” motto, as evidenced by its multicultural staff, who hail from Taiwan, Canada, Australia, Macau, Bolivia, the UK and the U.S. Using a flat organisational structure that encourages coordination in place of management and discussions in which each member’s voice is valued, Winkler has a staff ratio of over 50 percent women and 9 percent LGBT colleagues. The firm’s community-oriented nature is also reflected by a client base that frequently battles to advance social causes such as ensuring women’s rights to education and employment, protecting the environment, and achieiving equality for LGBT persons. Winkler has innovative programmes aimed at championing women in the workplace, such as an in-office daycare for children. To help its staff develop their talents in a holistic and novel way, the firm offers financial support for continued legal education as well as stipends for pursuing personal interests and in-house mentoring, including a recent series of workshops run by Microsoft Taiwan.