Diversity in its all forms should be embraced and celebrated. This benefits our people, our clients and our communities.
Our people – at all levels – own our diversity and inclusion agenda and foster our inclusive and supportive culture.
Our priority areas
Gender Equality
We are committed to ensuring gender equality in all aspects of our work, which includes focusing on getting more women into the partnership.
Our actions:
- We offer 26 weeks of gender-neutral paid parental leave which can be taken over 24 months, pay superannuation on both paid and unpaid leave (up to 12 months), and provide paid leave to attend fertility treatment appointments.
- We have introduced formal internal partnership promotion targets (40% women, 40% men, 20% of any gender) to increase gender equality and undertake analysis and actions to address equity in pay and promotions.
- Our gender equality committees, overseen by our dedicated Gender Equality Partner, are actively engaged with reviewing existing policies and initiatives, consulting with peers, and sharing key feedback and reform proposals.
- Corrs Network of Women, our gender equality network, is driving frank conversations around gender equality in the law and empowering women to achieve their full potential.
We are a signatory to the Law Council of Australia’s Equitable Briefing Policy, which aims to support the progression and retention of women barristers, and address the pay gap and underrepresentation of women in the superior courts.
Our CEO Gavin MacLaren has committed to the Panel Pledge – pledging to increase the visibility and contribution of women leaders in public and professional forums.
LGBTQ Inclusion
We foster an environment where our LGBTQ colleagues can bring their full selves to work, knowing they will be supported by their colleagues.
Our actions:
- We celebrate Corrs Pride Week to connect with our people, clients and communities to engage, educate and empower – whether that be as a member of the LGBTQ community or as an ally.
- We were the first Australian law firm to introduce a dedicated gender affirmation policy.
- We work hand-in-hand with LGBTQ organisations and clients on shared-values projects that make a difference to marginalised members of the LGBTQ community and apply our legal expertise and influence to advance LGBTQ inclusion in society.
- Pride@Corrs, our open network for LGBTQ employees and allies, plays an active role in supporting the inclusion of our LGBTQ people and enhancing our broader engagement with the LGBTQ community.
Corrs is a member of Pride in Diversity, Australia’s leading organisation for the promotion of LGBTQ equality and inclusion in the workplace and has an ongoing partnership with Out Leadership – the world’s leading LGBTQ business network.
Cultural Diversity
We celebrate the diverse backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints of our people. We want all our staff to feel respected and included and encouraged to express their culture with pride.
Our people are drawn from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds and the viewpoints they bring to the table add to our collective strength.
Our actions:
- We offer five additional days of bonus leave (separate to annual leave), empowering our people to celebrate cultural and religious days of significance that matter most to them.
- We are a member of the Asian Australian Lawyers Association and regularly sponsor key events for organisations that promote and support cultural diversity, such as the African Australian Legal Network.
- Our cultural diversity network enhances understanding of cultural diversity at Corrs by leading initiatives to celebrate different cultures and encourage greater cultural diversity in the law.
First Nations Inclusion
We support meaningful reconciliation with the First Nations peoples of Australia, and have formalised this commitment through our 2021-2023 Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Our RAP aims to increase opportunities for First Nations communities to participate in legal education and careers, while also developing our engagement with the wider Indigenous community.
Our actions:
- We work closely with First Nations organisations across Australia on a pro bono basis to address systematic inequalities, and on matters of national significance.
- We facilitate the employment of First Nations peoples in legal and non-legal roles at Corrs through our participation in the Career Trackers Indigenous Internship Program.
- We fund a $10,000 Indigenous scholarship at Melbourne Law School.
- Our reconciliation committee contributes to internal education, ensuring our people have access to accurate information on reconciliation and First Nations people and culture, engage in pro bono legal work and advocacy, and lead community partnerships.
Corrs was one of 18 law firms to declare support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart in 2019, recognising it as a historic mandate to create a fuller expression of Australia’s nationhood and a next step towards reconciliation.
Accessibility and Disability Inclusion
We are dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of accessibility and disability inclusion. We provide our people with the policies, tools and resources available at Corrs to support those with lived experience of disabilities, chronic illnesses and/or varied accessibility needs.
Our actions:
- We incorporate abilities inclusion in our premises and have adopted industry-leading technology to accommodate people of different abilities.
- We have joined the Australian Network on Disability’s ‘Stepping Into’ program, a paid internship scheme that gives talented university students with lived experiences of disability the opportunity to gain work experience.
- Abilities@Corrs, our internal accessibility and disability inclusion network, promotes the support and inclusion of those with lived experience of disabilities and/or chronic illnesses both at Corrs as well as amongst our clients and the broader community.
Parents and Carers Support
We have a deep appreciation of the responsibilities our people have outside of work and are committed to supporting parents and carers to find the balance that is the best fit for them.
Our actions:
- We connect our people with professional parental leave coaching and care locator services, in addition to our market-leading parental leave policy that offers 26 weeks of paid leave.
- We have dedicated family and parents’ rooms in all of our offices for our people to use in the event they need to bring their children to work, and offer subsidised on-site school holiday care programs.
- Our parents and carers network provides a regular forum for people to meet, discuss and access support related to parenting, caring and managing work and family commitments.
