To devote consistent attention to this, Petra Zijp and Geert Raaijmakers were appointed as inclusion partners. In recent years, several initiatives have also been undertaken to develop the inclusive competencies.
“We are well on our way, but also realise that a lot still needs to be done. With her extensive I&D experience in and outside the legal profession, Andjenie can contribute a great deal to our ambitions for a diverse, inclusive and safe corporate culture and working environment," managing partner Sjoerd Meijer says.
Inclusion starts with connection
The legal profession has traditionally been characterised by a masculine culture, but that is changing rapidly. 63% of the law students who started in 2022 are women and more than 20% have a non-Western migration background. And these are just two diversity factors within the I&D spectrum. NautaDutilh wants to create more connections with all talented law students. The firm also wants to support its clients with innovative, diverse teams to achieve the best results together.
"The next step is intentional inclusion, based on a clear vision embedded in a strategy with concrete objectives as part of intersectional policy: aimed at the different grounds of social inequality and diversity factors that a person. Awareness, inspiration and education must be the pillars this year. We will use various resources for this purpose. I look forward to helping this professional organisation to strengthen inclusion and diversity in the broadest sense of the word," Andjenie Cheng-A-June says.
About Andjenie Cheng-A-June
Andjenie Cheng-A-June has worked in the legal profession for 14 years and has made inclusion and diversity part of her role in various ways. As a diversity advisor, she supported companies within and outside the legal profession with her own company. She carried out assignments for organisations such as TU Delft and Fontys University of Applied Sciences. She previously worked at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek and did assignments for Stibbe and Linklaters. She also worked for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Loyens & Loeff. During her law studies at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, she worked for two years as a trainee and working student in NautaDutilh's Marketing and Business Development department.