Portrait photograph of Mary Digiglio
Mary Digiglio
Managing Partner

To cel­e­brate Inter­na­tion­al Wom­en’s Day, through­out March, we will be shin­ing a spot­light on the #womenof­Swaab who are lead­ing our firm and have paved the way for the oth­ers to find their own suc­cess­es. Start­ing with our Man­ag­ing Part­ner, Mary Digiglio who explains how Swaab has been suc­cess­ful in achiev­ing gen­der diver­si­ty in the legal profession.

#Each­fore­qual #IWD2020

How has Swaab been so suc­cess­ful in achiev­ing gen­der diver­si­ty in a pro­fes­sion that has strug­gled for so long?

The suc­cess of Swaab has been built on our cul­ture. Our firm has a his­to­ry of gen­der diver­si­ty, hav­ing being led by females. The female lead­ers have influ­enced our fir­m’s long his­to­ry of pro­mot­ing flex­i­bil­i­ty, diver­si­ty and an inclu­sive culture. 

Present­ly, 54% of our part­ners are female, our CEO of about 20 years before me was also a female. We do not have poli­cies around quo­tas for gen­der and diver­si­ty in our firm and have nev­er need­ed them because liv­ing and breath­ing diver­si­ty is just how we have always exist­ed. We also do not have a gen­der pay gap in our firm, for which we are very proud.

Hav­ing a work­force which is diverse in gen­der, age, eth­nic­i­ty, reli­gion and polit­i­cal per­sua­sion facil­i­tates per­mis­sion for every indi­vid­ual in our firm to have a voice about all sorts of issues. Our posi­tion on diver­si­ty and inclu­sion is a nat­ur­al exten­sion of our fir­m’s focus on the well­be­ing of every per­son asso­ci­at­ed with our firm.

- Mary Digiglio, Man­ag­ing Part­ner, Accred­it­ed Spe­cial­ist, Direc­tor, moth­er, sis­ter, wife and friend.

If you would like to repub­lish this arti­cle, it is gen­er­al­ly approved, but pri­or to doing so please con­tact the Mar­ket­ing team at marketing@​swaab.​com.​au. This arti­cle is not legal advice and the views and com­ments are of a gen­er­al nature only. This arti­cle is not to be relied upon in sub­sti­tu­tion for detailed legal advice.

Publications

Stra­ta Law Changes — Effec­tive 27 Octo­ber 2025

What do the lat­est NSW stra­ta law changes mean for own­ers and com­mit­tees? On 27 Octo­ber 2025, the next stage…

How does statu­to­ry inter­pre­ta­tion impact build­ing dis­putes in NSW?

How does statu­to­ry inter­pre­ta­tion impact build­ing dis­putes in NSW? Writ­ten laws like the Home Build­ing Act, build­ing codes, and indus­try…

Prov­ing Major Build­ing Defects Under the Home Build­ing Act

What qual­i­fies as a major defect in res­i­den­tial build­ings under NSW law? Defects can range from minor issues to seri­ous struc­tur­al…

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Con­grat­u­la­tions Michael Byrnes for being recog­nised as a Mon­daq Thought Lead­ing Author for Employ­ment and HR, Aus­tralia in the Autumn 2025 awards.

Mondaq’s Thought Lead­er­ship Awards, released twice a year in Autumn and Spring, cel­e­brate authors whose insights have attract­ed the high­est read­er­ship…

Can you dis­miss an employ­ee for look­ing for anoth­er job?

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“Can you dis­miss an employ­ee for look­ing for anoth­er job?”, pub­lished in HRM…

What the West­pac flex­i­ble work rul­ing real­ly means for employers

Michael Byrnes’ arti­cle ​“What the West­pac flex­i­ble work rul­ing real­ly means for employ­ers”, was pub­lished on HRM Online on 2…

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