Diversity & Inclusion

Anderson Lloyd is committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment where all of our employees and clients feel valued and seen in their identities.

Gender Equity

Anderson Lloyd is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and an inclusive work environment. We have demonstrated our commitment to gender equity by maintaining the highest percentage of women equity partners of any New Zealand law firm.

We are also a foundation signatory to the New Zealand Law Society Gender Equality Charter.

Anderson Lloyd is proud to sponsor community events which raise the profile of successful women such as Women You Can Bank On in Ōtepoti Dunedin along with sponsoring events run by our industry partners aimed at improving female representation including Women in Infrastucture, Women in Restructuring and Insolvency.

Diversity

We aspire to reflect the diversity of the communities in which we operate. We have systems in place to ensure our selection processes for recruitment, employee development, pay and promotion opportunities are free from bias and are based on merit. We recognise that people from varying backgrounds and with different perspectives bring valuable diversity. Diversity of thought is recognised at the firm alongside our commitment to ethnic and gender diversity.

The firm is also a member of Diversity Works and have been since 2008. Diversity Works aim to better New Zealand through representation and inclusion of different genders, ethnicities, sexualities, spiritualties and ages, and who also run unconscious bias awareness and training.

Biculturalism

We are committed to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and we are on a journey to understand how we can better uphold this commitment. Since 2019 we have been building greater awareness of Te Tiriti through internal staff education initiatives. We have partnered with NAIA – a whānau-owned company committed to helping New Zealand businesses engage meaningfully with Māori to develop a deeper understanding and awareness of te ao Māori and how to engage appropriately in business and other settings.

We are excited to explore the richness of the Māori culture and work more closely with iwi, as a result of this improved understanding. To help us achieve this, NAIA developed a bespoke and comprehensive Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Programme specifically for Anderson Lloyd, with various modules which incorporates pūrakau – traditional storytelling, to help us better understand Māori concepts and world view.

Our CQ learning so far has given our staff insights into the complexities of engaging with different runanga, ensuring different stakeholders and viewpoints are afforded appropriate mana. For our support of non-iwi local organisations, a key link for any law firm into their local community is their nearest Law School. Every year Anderson Lloyd sponsors and attends the annual Noho Marae trip for SOULS (Society of Otago University Law Students) and Te Roopū Whai Pūtake (the University of Otago Māori Law Students Association).

We are also conscious of our kaitiakitanga responsibilities in respect to the natural world. Our company is dedicated to environmentally-sound practices as evidenced by our Toitū accreditation and being a net-zero carbon law firm.

Manaakitanga influences our leave policies which include unrestricted length bereavement leave to cover attendance at all or part of a tangihanga as well as leave to attend unveilings/hura kohatu. Our parental leave policy includes full primary carer leave for the start of whangai arrangements for children up to six years.

Te Reo Māori

We are invested in our staff and encourage them to develop their te reo skills.  In 2018 we partnered with NAIA  and Taimana training to create a higher level of appreciation for indigenous languages and cultural diversity.  These partnerships provide an opportunity for staff to develop their skills and become confident in the use of te reo every day.  In 2023 we extended our partnerships to deliver the Te Ao Māori for Professionals course with Education Perfect.

Other opportunities to promote and practice te reo include monthly te reo focus groups,  Waiata group, Matariki celebrations, Te Wiki o te Reo Māori activities and joining the Maori Language Moment.

Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāi Tahu Internship Programmes

After working closely with Ngāti Kahungunu on several commercial legal matters, we have strengthened our relationship by investing in the future of the iwi, and legal profession, by offering an ongoing Internship Programme. We acknowledge the importance of supporting the development of rangatahi – tomorrow’s leaders, by providing insight into the legal profession and real life work experience where new skills and knowledge can be gained.

Click here to view details on the Ngāti Kahungunu Internship Programme.

We also have long standing links and relationships with Ngāi Tahu, given our origins in Ōtepoti Dunedin. We have therefore also developed two Ngāi Tahu summer internships as part of our internship programme. Information on these internships can be found here.

Living Wage Employer

Our leaders have driven positive change for not only the firm but the industry in general, leading the way (in 2019) as the first large New Zealand law firm (and one of the country’s first professional businesses) to become a certified Living Wage Employer, as defined by the Living Wage Movement Āotearoa New Zealand.

This commitment also extends to our suppliers, graduates and summer clerks.

The Living Wage has emerged as a response to growing poverty and inequality that continues to hold back so many Kiwi workers, their families and our economy. The Living Wage is the hourly wage a worker needs to pay for the necessities of life and participate as an active citizen in the community. It reflects the basic expenses of workers and their families such as food, transportation, housing and childcare, and is calculated independently each year by the New Zealand Family Centre Social Policy Unit.

Our Rainbow Community

Gender pronouns

Our employees told us in our 2021 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion survey that it’s important that we enable the sharing of pronouns to ensure that we can respect and support our Rainbow community to create a sense of belonging here at al

As part of this we are supportive of our people to include their pronouns on their email signatures, to demonstrate their support and aroha for our Rainbow Community and to create a sense of belonging here at Anderson Lloyd.

Supporting community events

For the last four years, our staff has taken part in the month long Sweat with Pride event challenging Kiwis to sweat for at least 21 minutes a day to get active and raise money to support our Rainbow communities. Over these four participating years, our firm raised over $40,000 which will be used for lifechanging projects to support Aotearoa’s Rainbow communities. Anderson Lloyd is also proud to be a Gold Supporter of the Pride Pledge.

We are also ensuring law students coming through universities are supported by sponsoring events such as the Pride In Law Otago (PILO) Rainbow Law Student Conference.

Rainbow Tick Certification

Anderson Lloyd is proudly Rainbow Tick certified. The certification process for the Rainbow Tick assesses whether a workplace understands, values and welcomes sexual and gender diversity. We believe in continuous growth and learning, with the Rainbow Tick as a milestone on our journey towards creating a more inclusive environment.

 

 

 

 

 

For more information contact:

Kelly Pankhurst (she/her)

kelly.pankhurst@al.nz

Diversity & inclusion updates