One of New Zealand's oldest law firms is leading the pack in the diversity space, particularly where sexuality and gender are concerned.
Simpson Grierson were the first organisation to be awarded a Rainbow Tick - signifying that they met the world-standard benchmarks for LGBTI inclusion in five areas: policy, staff training, staff engagement and organisational support, external engagement and monitoring. LGBTI stands for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgenders and Intersexes.
Chairman Kevin Jaffe said "We signed up to the Rainbow Tick because we want to make sure our workplace is truly inclusive and supportive of people from different backgrounds and in particular the LGBTI Community. Our goal is to let both our staff and our clients know that we embrace diversity and support our LGBTI staff."
Jo Copeland, HR Director, explained that the catalyst for change was a staff member who revealed the significant strain keeping his sexuality a secret at work was taking on him.
"He admitted that he'd received quite a lot of advice from his family and friends that a law firm environment was not a safe place to come out and that he needed to be careful with his career. The toll it was taking was just absolutely and completely unacceptable. In this day and age, it was something that we couldn't allow to be happening."