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Listening to all LGBTQI voices in law critical for progress
When it comes to ensuring diversity and inclusion pushes are successful, legal employers must ensure that a holistic approach to LGBTQI voices is adopted, particularly with workforces being more scattered post-pandemic, says Danielle Eliatamby.
Jerome Doraisamy
In conversation with Lawyers Weekly, Herbert Smith Freehills solicitor Ms Eliatamby – who started at the firm in 2015 as a clerk and now works in M&A, and was last year named as a 30 Under 30 award winner by professional services advocacy group Out for Australia – said that a primary issue facing LGBTQI lawyers at this point in time is having all voices heard when determining inclusive pathways for the workplace.
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“How do we make sure that our push for diversity and inclusion is working for all members of the LGBTQI community, especially those that are marginalised within the community itself, for example, trans and gender diverse people, bisexual people, disabled people and people of colour? I think it starts with listening to those voices and amplifying their message, as opposed to speaking for or over them,” she submitted.
Giving airtime to all such voices is especially pertinent in the age of coronavirus, she continued, given that, in her opinion, the legal profession has not yet “mastered how to translate the culture of a firm or team to a remote working environment”.
“So much of culture is created and maintained by the incidental interactions people have with one another in the office. Remotely, engagement is by default very intentional, so we lose those incidental interactions,” Ms Eliatamby explained.
“Those incidental interactions are where someone might slip in a detail about their gender identity or sexual orientation, or drop something in conversation which makes clear that they are an ally. Without those, it is much harder to create an inclusive work environment, and I think that this impacts upon new starters and graduates the hardest.”
Practically, she suggested, legal employers can and must be doing the following moving forward: “Setting aside time for more casual/team building virtual catch-ups, e.g. virtual coffees, drinks etc with buy-in and participation across all seniority levels, and making the most of technology to facilitate team and culture building – e.g. Microsoft Teams' chat function is a more informal way to communicate within a team than email and does a pretty good job of replicating a team culture virtually provided everyone buys in to its use”.
This all said, Ms Eliatamby said she is “hopeful” looking ahead, pointing to her own employer’s track record in advancing diversity and inclusion in the workplace: “At HSF, there are so many passionate and dedicated people who work towards advancing diversity and inclusion every day, and who actively lobby for it to be a priority at all levels of the firm.”
Moreover, she added, things “can get better” for LGBTQI legal professionals.
“Emphasis on ‘can’, because being an LGBTQI lawyer does not get better for some people and I think it’s important to acknowledge that,” she noted.
“But, it did for me – when I started at HSF I was out to a handful of people in my life and couldn’t fathom coming out to all of my friend group let alone my work colleagues. That now feels like it was a different lifetime.”
Lawyers Weekly has launched its inaugural Champions of Pride accolade, which will pay tribute to the law firms and organisations that best demonstrate a commitment, both pledged and implemented, to the advancement of diversity and inclusion initiatives pertaining to legal professionals who identify as LGBTQI+. To learn more, click here.
