Inter­na­tion­al Wom­en’s Day 2020 #Each­forE­qual — Mary Digiglio

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.