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Being diverse and inclusive means we can attract the best talent, build the most effective teams, and deliver exceptional service to our clients. And most importantly, it means everyone is valued for who they are.

The legal sector still isn’t diverse enough. But we’re taking meaningful action to make measurable progress. Everyone at our firm should feel safe to be themselves and have their voice heard. We listen to our people and act on their feedback to improve their experience with us and ensure their wellbeing is protected.

By investing in programs for underrepresented and marginalized groups, we can effect systemic change. We design our policies and processes to be inclusive in how we recruit, how we retain talent, and how we help our people progress their careers with us.

We also believe in transparency about what we’re doing well, what we could do better, and how fast we’re progressing. Where possible, we collect and share diversity data, and use it to inform our strategy and activities.

And our efforts to diversify the legal sector don’t exist in a vacuum. We partner with organizations to promote equality and social justice in our communities.

Diversity and inclusion isn’t just about each and every one of us having a voice. It’s about the collective power of those many different voices together. Embracing the differences in who we are, what we’ve experienced and how we think. Promoting equality and progressing because of it. Together. One voice, made of many.

Celebrate

Every voice should count equally. But that’s not always the case.

We start by listening to each other, and learning.

About how we’re similar, yet different. About the experiences and attributes that make us who we are, but don’t define us. About what’s working, and what needs to work better. We embrace equity: some of us need more support to have the same level of opportunity and belonging.

The journey is what matters, because there will always be more we can do. Taking steps every day so all our people are treated with respect, can safely be themselves, and have what they need to succeed.

At DLA Piper we celebrate our diversity and differences. We empower ourselves and each other with knowledge and empathy. And we commit to speaking up and making real progress.

This isn’t easy. It takes courage.

We do it as individuals and as a community. Strong alone, stronger together. Because we’re one voice, made of many.

“I’ve been the only woman in the room on many occasions in my career.”

Pilar Menor, Global Co-Chair, Employment, Madrid

Empower

An inclusive culture requires inclusive behaviour throughout our organisation. This means supporting everyone we work with to grow and realise their own potential – leading to individual and shared success.

Our employee networks play a vital role in strengthening the inclusivity of our culture, driving diversity and supporting our people. The networks act as powerful advocacy platforms for colleagues from underrepresented groups, ensuring their voices are heard at management level and holding leadership to account for delivering on diversity goals.

People Networks

LAW (Leadership Alliance for Women) is DLA Piper’s International gender balance network. The group works to support gender balance at all levels by strengthening the influence, leadership and voice of women in our firm to effect change.

The Iris network is the voice, contact point and support mechanism for LGBT+ people and their allies at DLA Piper. The network engages the firm’s colleagues, clients and communities on LGBT+ issues, working closely with external partners such as Stonewall in the UK, Pride In Diversity in Australia and the Lawyers for LGBT and Allies Network in Japan.

Iris Represents
Iris Represents is the pro bono wing of our LGBT+ network, pushing for fair legal representation and an end to discrimination for LGBT+ communities worldwide.

PACT (Parents and Carers Together) is a growing employee network in the UK that supports people who have caring responsibilities. The network provides information, resources and support on a range of topics, including advice about flexible working, as well as engaging with clients and communities. 

In Australia we have the Parents and Carers Buddy Program, a support group for working parents and carers. Launched in April 2022, the program provides a platform for sharing experiences, seeking and providing reassurance, and discussing the challenges faced by working professionals with caring responsibilities. 

 

Mosaic is our UK racial and ethnic diversity network. Mosaic promotes race fluency, creating opportunities and environments for our people to have conversations about race and ethnicity with comfort, clarity and confidence. The network also works closely with our leaders to raise awareness of challenges relating to race and ethnicity, equipping them to be allies and change makers.

Enabled is our international ability people network, supporting anyone affected by a disability, neurodiversity, or physical or mental wellbeing issue, and breaking down barriers to ability inclusion in the workplace.

“Nothing great comes from a comfortable place.”

Felix Ndi-Obiosa
Of Counsel, Africa

Commit

“Work's not the opposite of life, it's part of life. I want our people to see DLA Piper as their professional home.”

Liza Strong, International Human Resources Director

Diversity and Inclusion goals

Our vision is to create a firmwide, inclusive culture, where our people thrive and our clients recognise us as best in class. There are many ways to measure this – one of them is to set ourselves Goals and KPIs, which we launched in March 2021. 

  • Our aim is for at least 30% of all Partners to be women by 2025 and we aim to double the number of women in our Partnership to at least 40% by 2030.

  • We expect at least half of future internal Partner promotes to come from underrepresented groups from now on. This may include but not be limited to gender, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation and socioeconomics.

  • We will monitor our Business Services population to ensure it remains inclusive and representative, and where there are imbalances, address them head on through proactive and targeted recruitment.
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