Russell McVeagh achieves Rainbow Tick certification
Following a six month audit process, New Zealand’s premier commercial law firm, Russell McVeagh, is proud to have been
awarded Rainbow Tick certification.
The Rainbow Tick programme is a continual quality improvement programme designed to help an organisation ensure it is a
safe and welcoming workplace for employees of diverse gender identity and sexual orientation and demonstrates a business
is an inclusive organisation for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, takatapui and intersex.
Russell McVeagh CEO Gary McDiarmid says the firm is very pleased to have been awarded certification, yet sees it has
only the beginning.
"It sends a great message to our staff and our clients that we embrace diversity at Russell McVeagh. We place great
importance on diversity and inclusiveness in our workplace although by going through this process, it has become clear
that we still have a way to go on our journey.
"We are committed to building upon this achievement and continuing to work on making our environment a welcoming place
for all of our employees to feel comfortable enough bringing their authentic selves to work."
Rainbow Tick Programme Director Michael Steven’s congratulated Russell McVeagh's efforts to become certified and said
the firm has shown real engagement with the process and sincerity in its approach to this topic.
Becoming certified involved an audit of relevant documents and the use of two focus groups which were carried out in the
first part of 2016 and then assessed against current international best practice in this field. The focus groups
included one with a self-selected group of Rainbow employees and the other with a group of staff from the general
population and from a range of departments, with staff from both Auckland and Wellington offices taking part in this
process.
The firm's HR director Lesley Elvidge says that creating a workplace where people feel free to bring their whole selves
is a key factor in being able to attract and retain the best talent at the firm.
"While the areas of gender balance and ethnicity have been the focus of our Diversity Project to date, it was important
to us to extend ours to include LGBTTI diversity. We have learnt so much through the process of becoming certified and
are grateful for the support and guidance of The Rainbow Tick organisation. We're looking forward to continuing to
develop our relationship with the LGBTTI community."
ends