Barros & Errázuriz was visited by Isabel Plá Jarufe, Minister of Women and Gender Equity of Chile
September 20, 2018 · 2 min read
On September 6, Barros & Errázuriz was visited by Isabel Plá Jarufe, Minister of Women and Gender Equity of Chile, as part of her work to promote women’s leadership and the promotion of women in positions of high responsibility.
“We wanted to give structure and continuity to the processes related to internal improvements around the role of women in the organization,” said Carola Trucco, a partner in the firm.
Isabel Plá was invited by the firm to celebrate the Conversation about the Women’s Agenda 2018, addressed to the entire firm. It was received by the founding partners José Tomás Errázuriz and Fernando Barros. In the presentation, she pointed out that in Latin America women represent 55.4% of the workforce and in Chile, 48.8%, “a reality that can also be applied to the law firms in the country,” the firm’s statement said.
The Minister emphasized recognizing “The need that exists to develop mechanisms that contribute not only to advance the explicit problems that arise in the workplace, but also in what is called ‘Crystal Roof’ (…) those invisible barriers that make it impossible for women to move up to the top levels of the corporate ladder, independent of their grades or achievements. ”
And, he stressed that in order to see effective results “the implementation of metrics that allow a constant evaluation is fundamental”.
“We believe it is important to emphasize that the Ministry’s proposal and the presentation made by the Minister of State, is a mobilizing invitation and challenges us to look at ourselves from another perspective in relation to the invisible gaps experienced by professional women and also to generate, gradually , the necessary cultural changes, “said Trucco.
Barros & Errázuriz has 40 women out of a total of 128 lawyers, which represents 31% of its population. Of these, only two are partners with 23 partners, eight are senior associates and 30 are associates.
The lawyer explained the work her office has done to implement policies that favor the professional development of women.
“For more than 10 years we have been promoting different practices that make work and family life compatible, because we are convinced of the importance of incorporating women and promoting their professional career,” he said.
Some of these practices have been labor flexibility, with special hours, so that women who are mothers can distribute and make their times compatible effectively. In this way B & E attracts and retains talented women, who can “deploy all their professional skills, without sacrificing their personal lives,” he said.
Source: Lexlatin
