The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
In our recently released 2019 New Partner Report, we celebrated this as the best year yet in terms of the share of women in the new partner classes in major law firms in the United States – 41.3%, an increase of 8.1% since 2012 and a year-over-year increase of 2.4% from 2018. Take a look at our 2019 New Partner Report for further data, trends and insights.
While we should celebrate our achievements, we also need to focus on next steps in order to advance more women to the top levels of leadership by being more systematic with managing their pipeline. By keeping the following three steps in mind, organizations will be able to monitor, maintain, and add to their pipeline of women and continue to close the gender gap in leadership.
Maximize Recruitment: New hire and lateral recruiting efforts need to be done effectively to attract the best talent. Start by putting your best foot forward. Gather data to understand why or why not professionals chose to come to your organization through focus groups, check-in meetings and/or surveys with new hires. Speak with professionals who declined employment offers. Track and assess this data to understand if there were any gender differences, what you should highlight, and what you should consider changing. Were some programs/policies particularly important to women? Were key practices/programs mentioned across the board? By tracking this information, you can objectively understand what policies/programs to highlight, how to prepare your interviewers, and ways to improve your overall recruitment process…
https://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DFA-Action-Steps.jpg596800dfalliancehttps://dfalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DFA-Humanizing-Work-Cultures-scaled.pngdfalliance2019-12-29 19:46:462019-12-29 19:47:31Action Step – Tipping the Scales: Systematically Manage the Pipeline of Women Professionals
The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
We called this year’s conference Inspire. Innovate. Ignite! because we believe you can learn everything you need to start taking your organization to a new level in one day. Our dynamic speakers and influencers shared their insights and perspectives on creating work environments that meet the needs of today’s employees and ensures everyone is supported and valued. Here are some of the highlights from our speakers to help you ignite change in your organizations.
Erica J. Bolden, Head of Diversity & Inclusion, Mercedes-Benz USA: D & I isn’t just smoke and mirrors; be intentional about it. Internally we’re reestablishing what our community and culture looks like. Externally, we’re positioning ourselves for greater visibility through more intentional interactions with the community.
Stacy Bunck (Flex Success® Honoree), Office Managing Shareholder, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart): Client support is everything; Rafael Medina always made it clear he would support me and that family came first.
Sarah Chapman, PhD, Director within Deloitte’s Sustainability & Social Impact Advisory Practice & National Lead, Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability, Deloitte, Canada & Chile: Look at men’s experiences and their expectations to make them supporters and active participants in gender equality.
Jami de Lou, Diversity & Inclusion Director, Boston Consulting Group: Representation within your organization has to match the people you want to recruit. Think about what it means to thrive; our flex programs need to be driven by the talent management teams,
The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
As organizations become increasingly cost conscious, it’s even more important to understand and leverage existing resources and coordinate efforts across all departments to create a robust talent development and D & I program. Are you aware of all your organizational memberships, benefits, subscriptions, and resources? Do you know of new talent development initiatives across your organization? Do you regularly meet with human resources, recruiting, professional development and D & I professionals to discuss successes and challenges? Thinking through these questions will lead to more thoughtful, comprehensive, and coordinated efforts.
LEVERAGE EXISTING RESOURCES: Know the available resources, memberships and subscriptions at your organization and leverage them. Through conversations from our Insight Interview Study, we learned that some law firms are utilizing benefits through their Employee Assistance Programs, such as coaching and parent resources, in order to make their New Parent Program more comprehensive. A number of our member organizations mentioned that they utilize the DFA Signature Seminar Series to supplement educational offerings around their workplace flexibility program. By using existing resources, D & I and talent professionals can make their initiatives more robust by providing supplemental benefits, services, and programs at no additional cost. They can also use these resources as a pilot to gauge interest and need….
To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. To learn more about launching programs, policies and support structures to promote diversity and inclusion, contact Manar Morales.
Action Step – Tipping the Scales: Systematically Manage the Pipeline of Women Professionals
The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
In our recently released 2019 New Partner Report, we celebrated this as the best year yet in terms of the share of women in the new partner classes in major law firms in the United States – 41.3%, an increase of 8.1% since 2012 and a year-over-year increase of 2.4% from 2018. Take a look at our 2019 New Partner Report for further data, trends and insights.
While we should celebrate our achievements, we also need to focus on next steps in order to advance more women to the top levels of leadership by being more systematic with managing their pipeline. By keeping the following three steps in mind, organizations will be able to monitor, maintain, and add to their pipeline of women and continue to close the gender gap in leadership.
Maximize Recruitment: New hire and lateral recruiting efforts need to be done effectively to attract the best talent. Start by putting your best foot forward. Gather data to understand why or why not professionals chose to come to your organization through focus groups, check-in meetings and/or surveys with new hires. Speak with professionals who declined employment offers. Track and assess this data to understand if there were any gender differences, what you should highlight, and what you should consider changing. Were some programs/policies particularly important to women? Were key practices/programs mentioned across the board? By tracking this information, you can objectively understand what policies/programs to highlight, how to prepare your interviewers, and ways to improve your overall recruitment process…
Action Step – Highlights from the 2019 Annual Conference
The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
We called this year’s conference Inspire. Innovate. Ignite! because we believe you can learn everything you need to start taking your organization to a new level in one day. Our dynamic speakers and influencers shared their insights and perspectives on creating work environments that meet the needs of today’s employees and ensures everyone is supported and valued. Here are some of the highlights from our speakers to help you ignite change in your organizations.
Action Step – Maximizing Existing Resources and Coordinating Efforts
The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility. Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
As organizations become increasingly cost conscious, it’s even more important to understand and leverage existing resources and coordinate efforts across all departments to create a robust talent development and D & I program. Are you aware of all your organizational memberships, benefits, subscriptions, and resources? Do you know of new talent development initiatives across your organization? Do you regularly meet with human resources, recruiting, professional development and D & I professionals to discuss successes and challenges? Thinking through these questions will lead to more thoughtful, comprehensive, and coordinated efforts.
To read this entire Action Step become a member of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. To learn more about launching programs, policies and support structures to promote diversity and inclusion, contact Manar Morales.