The first in-person meeting of the DIS-ERA Pledge Gender Champion Initiative took place on 2 May 2024 in conjunction with the DIS Spring Conference. Participants were welcomed by Stuti Gadodia, Carsten Wendler, Lisa Reiser, Martina Magnarelli and Mariana Candido de Oliveira at the Hamburg office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
The meeting began with a round of introductions where each person was able to share their experiences and career paths. The group then engaged in a lively discussion on gender representation in arbitration and brainstormed on potential projects that the Gender Champion Initiative could implement.
One of the ideas was to organise a booklet for arbitrators. The aim would be to provide stakeholders with information on who are the professionals with the necessary qualifications to sit in arbitration. This could help to avoid the tendency for arbitrators to be appointed by the same people and the lack of gender representation in many appointments. There were other creative suggestions on how to make this project interactive and appealing to users.
Another project discussed was the organisation of events related to the Gender Champion initiative. This could not only promote female arbitrators and speakers, but also promote the initiative as such, potentially attracting more supporters.
Participants shared many ideas and different perspectives - from the institution, from large and boutique law firms, and from in-house counsel. The general feeling was that there is still much to be done to promote gender equality, but that such initiatives and projects could really make a difference in the market.
Mariana Candido de Oliveira