McCullough Robertson named employer of choice for fourth year

For the fourth consecutive year McCullough Robertson Lawyers has received the prestigious Employer of Choice for Gender Equality citation from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). The national citation recognises employers that are adopting leading practices to promote gender equality in the workplace.

McCullough Robertson Partner and Chair of Diversity Committee Guy Humble said with momentum for improved workplace gender equality building, issues like pay equity and women’s untapped leadership needs to be at the forefront of strategies.

“Gender equality in the workplace isn’t about ideology or political correctness but economic opportunity,” said Mr Humble.

In the past 12 months we have piloted our sponsorship program which seeks to advance our senior leaders ensuring any unconscious bias that may affect decisions is eliminated. In 2018 ten leaders are involved, eight of whom are women. Chairman of Partners Dominic McGann said this initiative goes beyond mentoring, pairing each candidate with a single sponsor who, through advocacy and support, facilitates their development as a future leader.

“While there is still a long way to go, we have made progress against our goal to increase opportunities for women in leadership roles across our organisation since 2014, with 67% of women in management roles and an increase in our female partners,” said Mr McGann.

Other significant developments include the firm’s market leading move to pay up to 12 weeks of employee superannuation contributions on unpaid parental leave which will contribute to a broader industry push to address the gender gap in retirement savings. Similarly, as a signatory of the Law Council of Australia’s Equitable Briefing Policy, we can support the progression and retention of women barristers, and address the significant pay gap and underrepresentation of women in the superior courts. Our briefs to female barristers have already seen an increase in the 12 months.

Other innovative solutions at the firm include grandparent’s leave, onsite car parking for women during their third trimester of pregnancy and a fully equipped kid’s room in our Brisbane office.

WGEA Director Libby Lyons congratulated the 2017-18 citation holders for their commitment and recognition of benefits that improved gender equality can bring to their businesses.

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