Our commitment to preventing discrimination and promoting equal opportunity and diversity has been rewarded by the Ministry of Employment of the Brussels-Capital Region through the grant of a diversity label. NautaDutilh joins over 150 companies in the Brussels-Capital Region that have obtained the label, which is valid for two years and renewable. It is noteworthy that we are the only law firm on the list.
Dirk Van Gerven, managing partner of NautaDutilh Brussels and member of the diversity committee: "We strongly believe that our differences make us stronger, wiser and better able to bring about change. Far from being an end goal, this label encourages us to continue our efforts and make further progress to adapt to an ever-evolving society and truly meet client needs."
Over the course of 18 months, various actions in the areas of recruitment and selection, HR management, internal communication and awareness, and external positioning were taken to promote diversity and inclusion within the firm.
Examples include:
- We established a diversity committee, with members drawn from all seniority levels and departments.
- We co-founded the WILL programme to encourage talented female lawyers to pursue a career at the bar.
- We ensured that every step of our recruitment processes is designed to encourage diversity and inclusion, from vacancy announcements to job offers and contract signature. All interviews are conducted by both female and male interviewers to ensure gender parity and counter gender bias. Furthermore, all candidates are requested to sign our diversity statement when joining NautaDutilh. This statement proudly sets out the values of our firm in terms of diversity and inclusion.
- Eight of our partners act as mentors in the Be.Face programme, which provides coaching and guidance to students from unprivileged backgrounds (disabled persons, refugees, first-generation university graduates, etc.) in order to improve their chances of finding employment.
- We teamed up with Créahm, an organisation whose objective is to reveal and develop artistic expression in people with mental disabilities. All of the artwork displayed at our Brussels office was made by Créahm artists.
- We are a co-founder of the Legal Diversity & Inclusion Alliance (LDIA), an association comprised of more than 35 member firms in Belgium which have agreed to work together in order to promote diversity and encourage an inclusive culture in the legal profession as a whole.
- We are in regular contact with DiversiCom, a non-profit organisation that facilitates the employment of disabled persons based on their skills.
Our commitment to diversity and inclusion was one of the reasons we were named "Best Place to Work" at the 2019 Trends Legal Awards.