Diversity at MinterEllison

Minter Ellison is very strong on workplace diversity, particularly gender diversity.

I think Minters is on the right track to appointing women in senior roles however more needs to be done to retain women in the associate/senior associate levels so that they end up as partners of the firm. With ethnic diversity I think the firm has done a good job.

The firm's strong culture dictates that everyone is accepted.

I think Minters is doing well in terms of gender diversity (from what I've seen and heard). The ethnic diversity does not seem too obvious at first glance. Having said that it does seem quite a fair workplace in terms of issues such as promotion, child care, flexible work arrangements and maternity leave.

Lawyers returning from maternity leave have the ability to work flexibly from home or leave at semi-normal hours, put the kids to bed and then keep going remotely.

The firm is clearly dedicated to diversity. There are three women in my team working part time due to family commitments. In the last year more women were promoted to partnership than other firms promoted men and women to partnership. A new LGBTI community is about to be launched within the firm and there has been a huge wave of support for it.

Minters is very flexible and I have not seen any negative treatment of any of the above.

My company is trying to raise awareness of the importance of diversity, and is also implementing some practical measures - for example, unconscious bias training for partners of the firm and other people involved in the recruitment process. I am not aware of any diversity targets however, and there are certainly no quotas for women in senior roles.

Very impressed with flexibility with women working part time due to family commitments.

Minters is better than many other firms with regards to its clerkship intakes - it looks beyond the typical USYD/UNSW candidates to less popular universities. More should be done to enhance the programs at these universities to attract candidates.

Finds ways to engage with a diverse group of potential applicants.

There is a program which supports people of aboriginal background to experience the workplace. Whether this leads to jobs I am not sure. The pro bono section of the firm greatly supports a less privileged high school students - whether this leads to jobs at my firm I am not sure.

Everybody is given a fair opportunity to apply regardless of background.

There is a scholarship-like program that supports prospective clerks who have an indigenous background.

The firm participates in various programs to assist disadvantaged people. One such program that I was a part of was GOALS. I have heard of many other programs as well as pro bono work.