Media Release: Clayton Utz is a leading law firm in progress on LGBTIQ inclusion

Sydney, 16 June 2020: For the fourth consecutive year, Clayton Utz has achieved Gold Employer status - the only large law firm to do so - at Pride in Diversity's 2020 Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards.  The preliminary awards were announced via a virtual ceremony on 11 June.

Clayton Utz's leadership in LGBTIQ inclusion, both as an employer and in the wider business community, also saw us recognised this year as a Platinum Qualifier, reflecting our high level of performance within the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) over a sustained period.  The LGBTQ Inclusion Awards draw upon robust data and metrics from the AWEI and Health + Wellbeing Equality Index (HWEI).

The Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Clayton Utz, Alison Woolsey, said she was incredibly proud at how far the firm had come in its efforts and initiatives to be a truly inclusive workplace for LGBTIQ people.

"We've worked really hard over the last 12 months, and the last 5 years, to build a sustainable LGBTIQ inclusion program that aims to engage our people, clients and the community in the conversation around what an inclusive LGBTIQ culture looks like," Alison said.

"For example, we've run regular workshops and educational seminars to build general LGBTIQ awareness and to explore topics such as what it means to be an ally to trans and gender diverse colleagues. We've also updated our policies to reflect international best practice and introduced new initiatives such as our LGBTIQ Women's Conference, to hear from LGBTIQ women about what workplace inclusion means to them and what we could do better."

Clayton Utz Chief Executive Partner Bruce Cooper said the rigour around how employers are assessed to achieve Gold status showed the firm was making good progress on LGBTIQ inclusion.

"Being seen as a leader in this area is important to me and to our leadership team.  Given what we are seeing in the world now, inclusion - in all its forms - matters more than ever.  We will continue to make diversity and inclusion a priority as an employer and as a member of the business community."

The 2020 Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards celebrate LGBTQ workplace inclusion and are hosted by ACON’s Pride Inclusion Programs, the national not-for-profit LGBTQ inclusion support program for employers, sporting organisations and service providers. The preliminary awards are a precursor to the announcement of individual awards in October this year.