New Zealand law firm Russell McVeagh has been named a White Camellia Award winner for its work in promoting equality through community initiatives and advocacy, associated with Principle 6 of the 7 Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) at the annual awards ceremony held online last week.
Feedback from the awards ceremony was that Russell McVeagh stood out for the number and the breadth of organisations it partners with, including Global Women and Champions for Change, YWCA/Gender in the Workplace community, Coralus (formerly SheEO), RainbowYOUTH, and Māngere and Wellington and Hutt Valley Community Law Centres, where many of our solicitors volunteer time to provide pro bono legal support.
The annual White Camellia Awards recognise New Zealand organisations that lead gender equality, leadership and fair equal opportunities across their business practices and judging is based on organisations' commitment and implementation of the UN Women and UN Global Compact WEPs to advancing gender equality into their business policies, procedures, and workplace.
Russell McVeagh CEO Jo Avenell says, "Our focus on gender equality is a key priority for our firm and we are proud of the work we have done to date in this area. We recognise that ensuring equality is a long-term focus requiring ongoing commitment to create meaningful change. Part of this commitment is holding ourselves accountable to our D&I goals and implementing and embedding a work programme to support this. We recognise we have more to do, and understanding cultural and systemic barriers to attracting, retaining, and promoting talented women is a core focus for this mahi."
Russell McVeagh would like to congratulate Supreme Winner BNZ and all other winners named at the ceremony.
The four organisations who make up the NZ WEPs Committee are: UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand, NZ Federation of Business & Professional Women, Human Rights Commission, and Zonta International District 16.
You can find out more about WEPs here.