Diversity and inclusion initiatives have risen in prominence across the business world in recent years. They stem from core business goals – not abstract social objectives – and are publicly embraced and supported by leadership at the highest levels. Law firms around the world have long recognised the need to invest in diversity and inclusion programmes that further commitment to these ideals, but industry progress has been modest.

At Willkie, we believe everyone benefits from a diverse and inclusive workplace in which all personnel are treated with courtesy, dignity, and respect. The confluence of people of different gender identities, races, cultures, religions, beliefs, and sexual orientations across the firm yields a stronger team that is more adept at creative problem-solving on behalf of our clients. In fact, Willkie’s first female associate, Mary MacDonagh, was hired in 1939, which was extremely rare at the time. We have always known our most valuable asset is our people.

We are committed to continuing to enhance diversity and inclusion on a long-term basis, including in our leadership ranks. Currently, two women and one diverse partner are on our firm’s management committee. Seven women and five diverse partners serve as department or practice group chairs or co-chairs, five women and three diverse partners or counsel lead firm committees, and three diverse partners and two women serve as office managing partners. Of the US-based attorneys elected to the partnership this past year, 45% are women and 36% are diverse. The firm’s head of our Latin America Practice Group, Maria-Leticia Ossa Daza, who is profiled in this issue, has done a tremendous amount to support these efforts by actively supporting and mentoring other women at Willkie and across the industry. She leads our firm’s Latinx Affinity Group and regularly speaks about diversity at industry conferences in Latin America and the US.

As companies around the world have implemented comprehensive diversity programmes, law firms have welcomed the opportunity to partner with clients in these efforts. At Willkie, we regularly collaborate with clients on initiatives to further diversity and inclusion, including educational seminars, conferences and roundtable panels, and pro bono and mentorship programmes. Diversity also plays a major role in the success of our Latin America Practice Group, made up of lawyers from Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Uruguay. This diversity enriches our practice and client relationships across Latin America, and our firm generally.

On a firm-wide level, embracing diversity and inclusion is critical to our overall success. We recognise that there is still much more to do at Willkie and across the legal industry. Diversity and inclusion will remain core to the values of the firm. We look forward to continuing our work, in conjunction with our colleagues and clients, of cultivating an environment that is diverse and inclusive at all levels.

Steven Gartner Chairman Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

My journey into an in-house legal role has not been a traditional one. I reached my current leadership position as Director of legal and institutional affairs without having any previous corporate experience. In fact, I had next to no previous experience in the private sector at all!

My career developed almost entirely in the public sector, where I focused on administrative and regulatory law. In 1991, almost exclusively I started working for the Executive National Legal Counsel and Solicitor General’s Office. This was the beginning of a career that lasted more than two decades. My roles over that time encompassed many different responsibilities, but mainly I was leading legal teams at the Ministry of Justice and the Secretariat of Human Rights, where I was the national director of legal affairs. During those years, I worked heavily in the international arena, involving topics as wide-ranging as investment protection treaties and human rights. Despite the diverse nature of those topics, they shared many common aspects: the development of complex strategies; the coordination of interdisciplinary teams for international arbitrations and trials; and human rights legal proceedings and negotiations. I learned from excellent mentors the skills I needed in cases before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and Mercosur.

From a very early stage, I understood that these tasks demanded combining the law’s more technical aspects with wider political analysis and a knowledge of international relations. Thankfully, politics was not absent from my education nor from my calling.

I became a student at the School of Law of Universidad de Buenos Aires in 1985. I was part of the generation that lived during the transition to democracy, which started in 1983 with the election of President Alfonsin and ended seven long years of military dictatorship. This historic circumstance left a deep mark on law students who moved between classes and deliberation forums, thinking about the effects caused to a society whose rule of law had been substituted with terror practices. This was, definitely, the origin of my professional calling on the area of human rights, where I worked for more than 15 years as a public official, and which I continue to support even after leaving government. In fact, I currently head the regional advisory board for Latin America of the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation in parallel with my corporate in-house role.

Another very strong influence for me – and one which shaped the way I perceived the law at a very early stage of my career – was the opportunity to continue my academic studies at Yale University as a visiting scholar. Throughout those years, I was exposed to discussions that weren’t yet taking place in Argentina: exciting discussions about feminism, diversity, and multiculturalism. These discussions had a lasting impact on me.

After working as a government official for more than 20 years, another great challenge was put before me: I received the invitation to join an Argentinian private healthcare company to help it strengthen its in-house legal department and to help it tackle important regulatory challenges related to the business’s growth and expansion. (Healthcare is a highly-regulated industry in Argentina.) And so, in 2013, I joined Farmacity to lead its legal department. Not long after I joined, my responsibilities expanded to include leading the area of institutional relations, communication, and sustainability.

The transition from the public to the private sector was a steep learning curve for me, and involved having to adopt different cultures, languages, practices, and traditions. However, despite working in such a different environment, I realised that the training, principles, and my perspective on justice and the application for the rule of law remained the same and enabled me to adapt quickly to my new situation. I became aware that every position, every role, has been and will always be a continuous learning experience, in which the skills developed and assimilated at one time and for a specific context are adapted and used at other times and in other contexts.

In my corporate life, I find myself applying many of the skills I learned in my years as a government official: the ability to manage and resolve conflict, to lead big teams, to work under pressure, and to make decisions and face the consequences. My experience working within interdisciplinary areas also allowed me to learn vital communication skills: explaining complex legal concepts to non-lawyers, and managing interfaces between political decisions and technical structures. Those same communication skills are used daily in my job as in-house counsel. They are present in the relationships I have with external counsellors for the development of strategies, and during the decision-making process with our shareholders.

As a corporate in-house lawyer, it is important to understand who is responsible for the legal strategy or institutional decision, the scope of the external advisory services, and the way in which the in-house professional provides a unique view of the business’s needs. Also, it is vital to remember the point of view of your shareholders.

The combination of experiences I talk about are not reduced simply to the technical legal skills or qualifications I have gained. It is so much more than that. In this regard, I would like to focus on the human rights agenda – mainly in connection to the gender agenda – and the connection between cultural and societal values and beliefs, and how organisations behave.

My point of view is that the gender agenda cannot be separated from the history of my generation, nor from my professional training. Legal education and professional legal practice for women in Argentina historically reflect the same structural discrimination experienced by other professions and activities, and that women face daily in their lives outside of work as well.

Most students in schools of law in Argentina are women. However, that proportion is transformed in the labour market, where the pyramid is totally inverted. Let us specifically have a look at the proportion of women who are partners at big law firms, or the negligible proportion of women in managerial positions. Let us look at the public sector where most workers within the judicial system are women but only a small number of those women are judges – and those women judges hold office mostly at courts of first instance, seldom at courts of appeals, and where only one woman is among the justices of the Supreme Court. It is worth mentioning that only in 2004 did a woman become part of the highest court in Argentina, and only in 2009 did the School of Law from Universidad de Buenos Aires appoint a woman as dean – for the first time since it was founded in 1821.

Of course, this reality is not unique to the legal industry, not to Argentina. Across the corporate world, most of the top positions in companies are held by men. However, in the legal industry, this vertical segregation is also coupled with horizontal segregation. There are legal areas traditionally performed by women and others by men. The ‘women’s world’ of legal practice has been historically limited to family, labour, and employment law or to those areas considered protective, and related to care. At the opposite end of the spectrum, we have the world of power, dominated by men: public law, business, and diplomacy. These areas are rarely entrusted to women.

This double layer of gender segregation relies heavily on unconscious biases that support the training, recruitment, and professional development of men at the expense of women. The professional development of a woman lawyer when she graduates is different from that of men. The opportunities to study a major, to study abroad, to publish articles, to become a member of professional boards, and to attend networking activities have historically been more limited for women than for men. This is because the time for professional development often coincides with the time at which women are of reproductive age. If development opportunities occur without any accompanying active policies that allow women to balance their professional lives with their decision to become mothers – and also level caring activities between men and women – this gap will only become wider.

Inequalities and gaps are not fixed on their own. In top in-house positions, as with any other leadership role in any other organisation, corrective measures must be implemented to fix the original inequality. Organisatations should regularly review their selection and promotion processes, they should incorporate gender perspectives into their assessment processes, and they should develop policies to make work and family life compatible.

For women lawyers in in-house leadership positions, there can be an additional barrier in their way – that legal departments in companies are often support areas, and therefore outside the ‘core’ business areas, which are still very much dominated by men, and seen as men’s responsibility. This segregation is, once again, not only vertical but sometimes horizontal.

Happily, though, a new paradigm is emerging in organisations. The global women’s movement, to which Argentina constitutes no exception, is changing the way in which the gender agenda must be considered by the private sector – almost mandatorily.

Diversity, inclusion, and, in general, human rights, are not only a matter for state or international bodies, but are also starting to become part of companies’ agendas. In 2011, the United Nations issued a document of Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. As a consequence of that universal declaration, the topic is, little by little, moving from the periphery of the private sector’s agenda and advancing towards the center of the business. Companies that embrace diversity and inclusion are committed to broaden the scope of their human rights work; they are moving from traditionally isolated actions that were undertaken under the umbrella of corporate social responsibility, to developing a whole agenda on gender, labour conditions, diversity, and environmental protection for the entire organisation.

This is what we propose to achieve at Farmacity. For more than five years, we have been putting actions in place related to the promotion of equality and the fight against gender-based violence; to educate, prevent, sanction against, and eliminate discrimination and violence against women in any of its forms; and to create alliances with government bodies and organisations from the private sector and civil society to boost the actions carried out together within the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In line with our belief that words matter, we made a public declaration that Farmacity is a company with a focus on gender equality.

That said, actions speak louder than words, and so our first concrete action was developing an internal protocol for gender-based violence interventions. We established a procedure that must be followed when violence cases are detected; this includes the provision of special leave for women who are the victims of violence, and arranging assistance with the help of the legal and human resources teams, in a strictly confidential process. In collaboration with specialised institutions, we train all our personnel on gender-based violence: how to detect it and how to provide assistance to the person affected. We also contribute with public campaigns about this serious social problem, which in Argentina causes the death of one woman every 32 hours.

This was then followed by several other initiatives. In collaboration with the National Ministry of Justice, we developed a programme that trains convicted women or women recently released from prison in cosmetics and personal care. This empowers women and also provides job opportunities to an often invisible group of women that faces many different types of discrimination.

We also implemented self-assessment initiatives with the United Nations programme, which enables us to develop a sustainable equality agenda, tackling issues such as women in leadership positions and the reduction of the gender pay gap, amongst many others. These initiatives, along with others that we intend to put in place in the future, result from having an organisational culture that values and promotes an inclusive leadership, and that encourages individuals to be committed to gender equality and women’s rights.

I believe that all women who have been able to develop a successful professional career have a responsibility to our gender to offer support and guidance. The organisational culture that I am committed to promotes and encourages women in such way that they should not have to make any extra effort to demonstrate their value.

From the positions we have, we must contribute to make the road easier for future generations and I believe mentoring constitutes an essential activity within all organisations. For those who are already in senior positions, it is so important to share your experience with those starting their career, to enable an easier road, to reduce gaps, and to eliminate inequalities.

As a region, Latin America accounts for a 22% share of all lawyers globally, and an estimated 33% share of female lawyers globally. Despite this, just 25% of top management roles are occupied by women, and those in top management roles earn just 60% of that paid to their male counterparts. In Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, women earn between 49 and 68 cents for every dollar that men earn in the same or similar roles.

Disappointingly, this is in step with much of the rest of the world. According to a 2019 report published by the World Bank, just six countries globally achieved a perfect score in gender equality, which means that the law in each of those countries treats men and women equally in every dimension measured by the research. The report covered 190 countries.

While Latin America shares the struggle for gender equality with much of the world, it faces unique barriers (in addition to those common to the rest of the world) in achieving that goal. Chiefly, the region’s distinct cultural and religious history has led to especially institutionalised gender bias, informing modern day attitudes which in turn make efficient reform difficult. A 2013 McKinsey & Company survey of 547 executives across Latin America found that 70% of those surveyed indicated that societal views of women’s primary responsibilities – namely, the raising of families – were a strong influence on how women make career decisions.

In some countries in the region, the institutionalised gender bias is subtle, but in others it is more obvious. Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy and the world’s fourth-largest democracy, is renowned for his ‘government-by-machismo’ approach to politics, and is illustrative of populist attitudes toward women. Bolsonaro has been the subject of numerous protests since his inauguration, due to his inflammatory comments regarding women, as well as various ethnic and sexual minority groups. Bolsonaro has outright placed himself in opposition to what he pejoratively calls ‘gender ideology’ – a largely conservative term used to undermine pushes for equality as antithetical to religious and family values.

But it is not just men who perpetuate gender stereotypes. Arguably, a large number of Latin American women also feed into these traditional gender roles. They believe it is their responsibility to take on all of the ‘home work’, which becomes more apparent after having children. Patricia Barbelli, Diageo’s legal and corporate security director of Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil, argues that men and women may take up distinctly separate positions at both work and home, to encourage a work-life balance.

Female perpetuation of stereotypes has also been seen through the remarks of Damares Alves, Brazilian minister of human rights, family and women, who assists Bolsonaro in his battle against ‘gender ideology’. Alves strongly supports traditional gender roles and is an opponent of so-called ‘ideological indoctrination’. In January 2019, when Bolsonaro came to power, Alves tweeted: ‘Women are made to be mothers’ and ‘It’s a new era in Brazil: Boys wear blue and girls wear pink!’. Alves asserts the view that diversity and inclusion programmes are a ‘threat’ to Brazilian families. Bolsonaro has also concisely propagated the long-peddled excuse for gaps in pay between men and women, arguing that men and women should not receive equal salaries and that he wouldn’t hire women with the same salary as men because women may fall pregnant.

The gender pay gap

According to the World Economic Forum, the gender pay gap of 29.2% in Latin America will take an estimated 64 years to close. The lack of practical regulation requiring businesses to observe compliance with equal rights legislation, especially gender pay regulation, to government and authoritative bodies, remains a substantial obstacle in ending the gender pay gap. Currently in Latin America, recording obligations exist only in Peru and Colombia. That said, Latin American governments are increasingly making an active effort to rectify this.

Gender discrimination is expressly prohibited in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. These nations all allow for provisions for differing legal action in relation to employees, against their respective employers, who permit gender discrimination within the workplace. For instance, in Mexico, employers who allow gender discrimination in the workplace may face labour ministry sanctions. Mexican employees are also able to bring civil action for ‘moral damages’ and criminal action under discrimination against their employer. These employees can also choose to file a complaint to the National Commission to Prevent Discrimination for payment of damages, a public warning, and/or a public or private apology.

In 2011, the Colombian Ministry of Labour stated that all Colombian businesses must document a gender pay record for audit or visits. Though this is not a direct recording requirement, it requires businesses to retain salary, job specifications, and requirements when beginning employment at the business via a gender lens.

More recently, in 2017, the Peruvian government passed a law prohibiting discrimination between men and women. The law prohibits salary discrimination between men and women, implements a recording specification (similar to that of Colombia) and prescribes businesses to notify their respective employees of payroll initiatives (and aspects affecting wages). Failure to comply with such laws may result in severe penalties for the employer. The 2017 law also recognised that sustained discrimination within the workplace would be treated as a ‘hostile act’, raising grounds for legal action against employers to allege ‘constructive dismissal’ and the payment of ‘mandatory severance’.

Research suggests that one of the primary causes of the gender pay gap is lack of representation of women in senior roles, but the lack of women in senior roles is a problem in itself. Companies and law firms are only now beginning to view gender bias as a problem. This is seen to be a separate issue that must first be addressed before the inclusion of women in senior roles. ‘The top levels of companies and most partners within law firms are still being filled by men,’ says Barbelli. According to the 2018 McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org ‘Women in the Workplace’ paper, men surpass women at every level within the workplace.

Mónica Jiménez González, secretary general of Ecopetrol Colombia SA, outlines how instead of taking slow and rigid action in addressing the gender pay gap, Ecopetrol is analysing its own company data. Ecopetrol assesses the salaries of their employees at all levels with reference to their job title. When the company has completed a comparative analysis of all job specifications, then Ecopetrol decides the employee salary. This comparative method disregards any gender bias.

Private progress

With negative attitudes toward the position of women in the workplace common at all levels of Latin American society – from religious institutions to the highest of national offices – and with governments occupied by more imminent concerns (such as widespread corruption), it may fall to private businesses to take the lead in correcting entrenched biases and disparity in the workplace.

‘We can see that in the last few years significant efforts have been made by various governments, but most importantly by the privately-owned companies, which I believe are the present leaders when talking about changing traditional mind-sets, not only as a part of natural evolution, but also as a way to improve their labour environments, which can surely lead to a revenue increase as well,’ says Ivonne Romero, SSA Mexico’s general counsel.

As such, internally developed policies and efforts in the private sector might become the most effective tool at advancing the cause of diversity, equality, and inclusion in Latin America.

‘We make sure that we have recruitment processes with an equal number of men and women candidates, in order to ensure that we have an expanded applicant pool that allows professionals to be selected objectively,’ says Sandra Monroy, legal director, Andean region for Uber and Uber Eats.

Programmes such as diversity in candidate pools, as implemented at Uber, are intended to safeguard the inclusion of women and other specified groups within the workplace. The 2016 Harvard Business Review article ‘If There’s Only One Woman in Your Candidate Pool, There’s Statistically No Chance She’ll Be Hired’ outlines that when ‘there were two women in the pool of [four] finalists, the status quo changed, resulting in a woman becoming the favoured candidate,’ and there would be a 50% chance of hiring a woman. These initiatives, if implemented, will undoubtedly increase women’s representation within the workplace.

Although law firms and companies have, in recent years, focused on recruitment processes to tackle the lack of women of women in top management roles, firms and companies alike are now increasingly identifying that more action is required to help women advance. Men and women progress through the workplace pipeline at differing rates and it is clear that gender prejudice and discrimination are an explanation for this. As far back as 2011, Catalyst’s report ‘The Myth of the Ideal Worker: Does Doing All the Right Things Really Get Women Ahead?’ outlined the idea of a ‘social penalty’ where women are more likely to be perceived negatively when asking for work promotions and salary increases, than their male counterparts. But thankfully, that is slowly starting to change with the growing influence of women in senior roles.

‘At SSA Mexico the legal function is part of the executive team, so we have the opportunity to advise the company on how to deal with gender inequality. In my team there are women lawyers (mothers and single). They know that they can count on my support when speaking of their development as women and lawyers,’ adds Romero.

As research continues to be conducted on the effects of diversity in firms – legal and otherwise – the business case is becoming increasingly hard to ignore, and charges of ‘meaningless box ticking’ hold less and less weight.

‘This is not just a moral obligation, but a sound business strategy,’ Barbelli surmises.

Diversity and business value

There is an established connection between gender diversity and a company’s bottom line profit. There is also clear connection between focussing on the gender pay gap and the war for attracting and retaining talent.

Studies also suggest that one of the leading reasons women are deterred from pursuing leadership and partner roles stems from a lack of flexibility, and a lack of positive women role models and mentors.

Various businesses are now active concerning women employee advancement, and this often means going beyond statutory regulations. SSA Mexico, for example, operates ‘flex time’ working schemes and offers additional maternity days, which are not necessarily specified under Mexican law.

‘Uber has several employee resource groups, devoted to women, such as “Women of Uber” and “Parents at Uber” among others, which allow women to embrace themselves and improve every day in their working environment,’ says Monroy.

Mentorship can play an important role in development, with ‘a good role model inspiring you to be the greatest version of yourself, not only on the professional, but personal field too. We [women] are often seen as rivals, when we should be allies. The importance of advocating for women’s higher performance, mentoring, and establishing a support network, all help to erase damaging stereotypes,’ Monroy says.

Fatima Picoto, assistant general counsel and legal director Brazil at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), also speaks of the value in mentorship for progressing in the workplace, arguing that it is a valuable tool for all employees, not solely women. ‘However, considering the different challenges that women tend to face, identifying someone who can support and sponsor you will have a huge impact,’ Picoto adds.

Pregnancy discrimination (despite being against the law) still exists within Latin America. According to the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, ‘some employers sought sterilisation certificates from women job applicants or tried to avoid hiring women of childbearing age.’ In the past, it was known that some Latin American employers went so far as to dismiss women employees from their job after hearing of their pregnancies. Despite both actions being unlawful, these laws are seldom enforced across the region. Pregnancy discrimination is inherently linked to a society that has historically tended to view women as home makers and mothers, rather than individuals valued in a workplace.

González notes that Colombia’s 18 weeks of maternity leave is unsatisfactory. Ecopetrol has an extended maternity leave due to the benefits it provides to both parents and children (the World Health Organisation recommends at least six months breastfeeding): ‘This will mean more breastfeeding in Colombia. In the cities, breastfeeding is almost disappearing, but in rural areas, breastfeeding is very high. Working while breastfeeding can be very tough. At Ecopetrol, we still want people to be able to breastfeed, if that’s their choice. We have maternity spaces in our buildings for women to breastfeed, which is very important. But, there’s still a long way to go,’ adds González.

Barbelli adds that ‘achieving gender equality in the workplace requires fundamental changes to a range of working practices. It is of utmost importance to reinforce that men’s parental leave is key to women’s progression.’

The ‘trickle down’ effect

Many Latin American businesses have increasingly encountered demand from, mostly foreign, shareholders to implement equal pay for equal work, or at least conduct equal pay equity audits. According to the 2018 ‘Women in the Workplace’ report, women continue to remain considerably underrepresented in the workplace, and corporations and firms must alter their approach in the hiring and promotion of employees at both an entry and manager level ‘to make real progress.’

Nonetheless, international investment in Latin American conglomerates and corporate governance in global companies is having a progressive ‘trickle down’ influence via region-specific diversity and inclusion policies. Several international businesses with teams in Latin America have voluntarily begun to enforce reformist initiatives such as extended maternity leave, flexible working, and mentoring programmes. These initiatives are aimed to appeal to, engage with, and advance women in the workplace.

Romero notes that as a subsidiary of Carrix, which is headquartered in the US, SSA Mexico ‘offers additional benefits to me as a woman who is working in an executive position. At SSA Mexico, we have a great local executive team, which is on the same page as our US counterparts.’

Many Latin American corporations are now embracing and implementing initiatives that go far above the present national statutory guidelines. Barbelli states that Diageo, which is headquartered in London, England, is transparent and candid when it comes to discussing the progression of women with careers in legal with their panel law firms.

Diageo’s credentials concerning the betterment of women in the workplace, without the existence of formal legislation, is outstanding. Women at a senior level have grown from 22% in 2017 to a mammoth 50% in 2019 and 49% of employees in Brazil’s São Paulo office are women. From July 2019, Diageo has offered six months fully-paid parental leave to both men and women employees, without any existing statutory requirements.

Monroy raises how the development of technology has impacted the increase of diversity policies globally: ‘One of the perks of the digital era is having the possibility to be connected, and somehow close, as if we are all in the same place. Uber has a global policy on diversity and inclusion that applies worldwide, allowing diversity initiatives to take place everywhere without limitations like distance.’

Many Latin American corporations are now embracing and implementing initiatives that go far above the present national statutory guidelines.

There is now a strong movement whereby women and minority groups are gaining momentum in Latin America. Picoto observes that, ‘GSK has 51% of women in our total staff and 49% of our leadership positions are also occupied by women in Brazil offices.’

#MeToo #NiUnaMenos

The advent of the #MeToo movement (or #NiUnaMenos, ‘not one less’, the #MeToo equivalent term coined in Latin America) has created a sense of ‘familiarity’ across the board with all women in their respective geographical regions, while providing them with a platform to voice their own experiences and concerns.

Given the historical role that women have traditionally played in Colombia (and Latin America as a region), the movement has started conversations about what is appropriate in the workplace and what is not. González argues that ‘#MeToo made people think: “What is that?” “Why is that everywhere?” “Why is it on Twitter?” “Why is it in the press?” “What does #MeToo mean to me?”. I have heard a lot of conversations concerning #MeToo in Colombia – this is amazing because you’re seeing women, and vulnerable women, in Colombia talking about it, which means that they are realising that they do indeed have a voice and it’s not okay for those lines to be crossed.’

The #MeToo movement created an awareness of the difficult reality that many women were, and still are, facing within the workplace environment. After recounting her own experience of harassment, Monroy states that #MeToo has had a positive impact on the women of Latin America in that they are now able to voice their concerns. This helps other women to come forward. Monroy also describes how the #MeToo movement has had a direct influence on Latin America’s ‘cultural institution’ where women who were once afraid of speaking out now have the confidence to do so.

#MeToo is a spawned concept: despite not yet being on a legislative level, it has bought awareness to the topic in Latin America. González does however note that ‘the Colombian government is of course aware of the movement and it’s making them, along with companies, ask themselves “how is this impacting us?”.’

Monroy adds: ‘Don’t ever let society-established parameters define what you can do and how far you can get.’

The barriers that women face in the Latin American legal profession originate from their historically weak status within society: from traditional gender roles to the stereotypical cultural norms of Latin America as a region. This has led to the arguable continuation of work place sex discrimination across the region. We are seeing the remnants of the Latin American ‘cultural institution’ filter down into the way women in law are perceived, with research even suggesting that the gender pay gap primarily concerns gender representation rather than pay discrimination, naming the causes as existing bias and historical pay discrimination allowing for the continuation of the gender pay gap.

Discrimination due to socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and gender identity continues in schools, reproducing stereotypes and traditional roles for women, particularly in relation to their role within the household. This ‘cultural institution’ has not only been fed by men in powerful positions, such as politicians, but also by women themselves who believe that there are specifically established roles which men and women should play. This can clearly be seen with the lack of women in senior roles and the very existence of the gender pay gap.

However, Latin American firms and companies are now seeing more and more women question how executive corporate decisions are made. The current unstable political climate in several Latin American nations, supported by the arrival of the #MeToo movement, and the ‘trickle down’ effect of conglomerate businesses, have all encouraged women to contest their role within society and workplace. This intervention by multinational companies may even cue Latin American governments to begin to include gender-related issues in their own policy programmes.

But, only a handful of Latin American nations have made headway in making motherhood and employment harmonious. Despite the majority of Latin American countries legislating to require businesses who employ 20 or more women to establish day care facilities, these laws are rarely ever enforced. The same can be said about laws governing pregnancy discrimination. There is obviously a disconnection between Latin American legislation and general attitudes towards women in the workplace. Increased efforts are required on behalf of national governments to enforce inclusion and other diversity policies locally.

We are slowly starting to see cultural developments in Latin America that don’t necessarily conform to the traditional historical norms and this has been a direct result of the advancement of the lives of women themselves. This activity will help facilitate the ending of discriminatory obstacles that Latin American women in law must overcome. As Monroy points out, the stereotypes have ‘if anything, challenged us [women] to reach our best within the legal profession,’ and that the progress in Latin America in recent years is ‘extremely valuable because of its history and the rough path that women have been through to get to this point’. Although progress on this front may be gradual, the long established cultural perimeters of specific gender based roles are also slowly (but promisingly) being eradicated.

My decision to pursue a career in law was driven mostly by the male role model I had when I was teenager: my father. He has always shown strong passion, commitment, and energy. He was also very dedicated to his legal career, having been an executive of a large bank and a Judge for some time. I was inspired by him to also follow a career in the legal industry.

I completed my undergraduate degree in law, my postgraduate degree in contract and tax law, and then completed an MBA. Unlike a lot of lawyers, who often begin their careers in private practice, I have always worked in in-house counsel roles. I began my career as a lawyer for PepsiCo before moving to Bayer, where I was promoted to the role of senior legal manager. After six years with the company, where I was also a member of the executive team (as corporate secretary to the CEO), I became a GC for the first time at Pirelli. I then moved to Whirlpool as their legal director of Latin America. I was at Whirlpool for almost four years when I was contacted by a head hunter to speak about an interesting opportunity at Diageo.

There are many reasons why I decided to move to Diageo. The main reasons, though, were its reputation (in having strong governance, values, and compliance); its solid and remarkable brands; its leadership in the spirits industry; and, finally, its bold diversity and inclusion agenda.

For me, the role of the legal department is so much more than simply a business partner – we are a business peer. The legal department must, fundamentally, help the business to do business. At the end of the day, in-house legal teams must consider themselves as a department that helps to sell and helps to deliver the company’s goals and strategies. We are not a support function for the business. Legal is a role that thinks not only for the consumers, but also for both the stakeholders and shareholders. It is important to challenge the often-held belief that the role of the legal department is to say no! We are there to ensure legal compliance, and to find solutions, always bearing in mind the consumer, stakeholder, and shareholder interests, and to help the business to grow.

This belief is very much reflected in how my team is structured and how our work is done. My team and I typically have very intense work days, which usually involve business meetings, discussions, projects, and deliverables that link to the company’s strategy. And, of course, we are responsible for all legal matters across the business. This involves various kinds of litigation, including tax, which is a complex area of law in Brazil. Our litigation work is not limited to liability but also includes asset litigation, contract litigation, environmental law, data privacy issues, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, antitrust, brand protection, and corporate security.

I believe it is very important to emphasise the different roles men and women may (and often do) play at home and work. It is even more important to establish limits when necessary in order to support the work-life balance, for both genders. This is where we must count on mentors or leaders within companies and organisations to support diversity and inclusion initiatives. Alongside this support though, it is just as important to lead by example.

Since the beginning of my career, I’ve personally faced many challenges as a woman. But I overcame these by being professional, resilient, and by showing my commitment and capabilities. I can recall many business meetings in my career where ‘manterrupting’ and ‘mansplaining’ were commonplace. I overcame this by being respectful, while also creating a space to put across my point of view. More importantly, I stood up for myself, and was not afraid to show my points of view and capabilities.

Some years ago, I joined the executive team of a multinational company (a more traditional business) and I was the only woman to occupy an executive position. The other executives were much more senior than me and had been working for many years for this company. In the beginning, it was very difficult for me to gain their trust, their attention, and to be included in the most important discussions, to really ‘sit at the table’. I faced challenges to build the relationships and get closer to them, but I am glad to say that they have turned into very nice colleagues… and one of them is currently my mentor!

In my opinion, the largest barrier facing women in the legal industry – and particularly in the in-house profession – is not getting women in, but the promotion of women to the top levels . This is because many companies are only starting to discuss diversity as an important issue. Unfortunately, from a practical point of view, this means that women tend only to occupy some levels in the hierarchy of organisations, and often only up to managerial level. While this is true to some extent in the corporate arena, it is especially prevalent in law firms. Senior leadership positions in companies and most partner positions in law firms are still occupied by men. Often this is because a lot of women give up their careers when they have children. This is not due to their skills, capabilities, or desire to return to work. This is, more often than not, due to the lack of flexibility from companies and law firms in helping women to continue to grow their career while also being a mother.

I certainly faced challenges when I had my daughter. Although I was lucky in that I found several supportive executives (both male and female), I was surprised at the low level of support I received from some female executives (some of whom were already mothers). It can be very tough without the right support. Taking lessons from my own experiences as a working mother I am, as much as possible, very supportive of my colleagues, my team, and other women who are pregnant or returning to work from maternity leave. I strongly believe that, as women, we must support each other because we all face similar challenges in life (in work and at home), and have the same aspirations and ambitions as men do.

With that in mind, and alongside my role leading the legal team, I also sponsor Diageo’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. This was created in order to address matters concerning women’s participation in the workplace, people with disabilities, race, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and support them with initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion. I am also a board member of WILL (Women in Leadership Latin America), an international organisation with chapters in São Paulo and New York and an advisory board in London. The aim of the organisation is to share best practice, aimed at closing the gender pay gap, promoting women in leadership roles, and helping organisations to establish career development programmes for women.

As a company, Diageo is very open and transparent in having conversations regarding female advancement in the legal profession. Gender equality remains a major issue in most organisations and there is still a gender gap in the vast majority of companies in Brazil. Despite the relatively slow progress in Brazil, Diageo has an impressive track record in advancing women (without having laws in place) and being a benchmark for companies in Latin America. For example, females in senior leadership positions has increased from 22% to 50% in the last two years.

If I could give one piece of advice to myself at the start of my own career, it would be to have a mentor and to make connections with a diverse range of women. It would also be to share my own experiences more, learn with other women, and count on their support. Mentorship is very important for young aspiring female leaders. Having a mentor may help the young woman to share their own experiences while learning from others’ experiences and counting on their own mentor’s support during their career.

I am fortunate in that I have had the pleasure of working with many admirable women in my teams throughout my career. Some women who joined my team in junior roles have progressed to being mothers in senior roles. I also have mentorship sessions with women who are new, or may not be on my team, to help them with their respective careers. I always try my best to teach, discuss, and give feedback to my mentees. I try to motivate them to keep focussing on both their career paths and own life aspirations, despite any challenges that they may encounter.