Matheson has been awarded the Investors in Diversity Gold Standard by the Irish Centre for Diversity.
Matheson is the first organisation in Ireland, across all sectors and industries, to achieve the Gold Standard distinction.
The Gold Standard is awarded to organisations that can clearly show how diversity and inclusion (D&I) forms an integral part of their business, and firms are assessed across five pillars:
- Diverse and inclusive leadership,
- Policies, procedures and processes,
- Recruitment, retention and progression,
- Recording and monitoring,
- Impact on external diversity.
In June 2019, Matheson was the first law firm to receive the Diversity Silver Standard, in recognition of the firm’s development and implementation of its people-focused D&I programmes.
Invested
Matheson has invested heavily in its D&I strategy, entitled the Cara Commitment, in memory of the firm’s late partner, Cara O’Hagan, who was active in spearheading many of the firm’s D&I initiatives.
The Matheson D&I philosophy is built on six pillars: generational; gender; family and working parents; disability; LGBTQ+; multiculturalism and social mobility.
It has established a range of initiatives across each of the pillars including:
- The formation of a D&I ambassador committee,
- Open Doors Month and Matheson Week – a celebration of people, values, and culture,
- The Matheson Agile Working Programme,
- The Matheson Maternity and Paternity Programmes,
- Matheson’s D&I Scholarship in partnership with Trinity College Dublin,
- The Matheson Life Stages Series,
- Matheson’s Annual D&I Conference in partnership with Trinity College Dublin,
- The launch of the firm’s values wall.
Irish Centre for Diversity director Caroline Tyler said her organisation was delighted that Matheson is the first organisation in Ireland to achieve the Gold Award, which was a testament to its engagement and commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Validation
Matheson managing partner Michael Jackson said the award represents a clear validation of the D&I initiatives embedded across the firm.
“We have clear goals that are underpinned by measurable outputs, for example our commitment to have 40% female representation on our leadership team by 2024, and this work will continue,” he said.