28
Thu, Mar
51 New Articles

Diversity Initiative in Turkey

Turkiye
Tools
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

The Istanbul office of Baker & McKenzie International celebrated the March 8 International Woman's Day in high style, launching a Diversity Initiative and holding its first-ever gender diversity event.

The Diversity Initiative included the launch of the office's Diversity and Inclusion Committee. The committee, led by Partner Asli Yigit, will make recommendations regarding ways to retain and support the office's female employees, will serve as a resource for colleagues who have questions or concerns regarding Baker & McKenzie's global diversity policy, and will organize various events in support of those goals and the firm-wide commitment to embracing gender diversity in Firm Leadership; Policies; Development and Training and Metrics; and Monitoring & Reporting.

The office also committed itself to Unconscious Bias Training, a key component of Baker & McKenzie's global Diversity & Inclusion Committee. The office explained that its partners have received training in regional meetings on the need to need to base decisions on conscious and deliberate information and ideas rather than unconscious biases, and they expect to provide similar trainings locally in the near future. 

The gender diversity event was the first on the subject in the Istanbul office. Articles were circulated ahead of time on themes such as second-generation gender bias, gender diversity as a business issue, and corporate efforts to retain female talent and increase the number of women in leadership positions. There followed a group discussion focused on Baker & McKenzie's global gender diversity policy, experiences in the Istanbul office, and ways to implement the global policy locally. The event concluded with discussing concrete ways to promote gender diversity in the Istanbul office. Proposed ideas included forming a gender diversity working group and offering unconscious bias training to all attorneys and professional staff, both global best practices. 

Future events are expected to include LGBT sensitivity training. 

In a statement released by the office, the organizers stated that “Baker & McKenzie considers diversity and inclusion to be an important initiative globally, and we in the Istanbul office are excited to discover local ways to both implement the global policy and support our female colleagues in their career development at the Firm.”

Our Latest Issue