Name: SA General Counsel for Diversity and Inclusion
Price range: $

About us

The South African General Counsel Initiative for Diversity and Inclusion, or SA GC for D&I initiative, was launched in 2019 to foster greater diversity, equity and inclusion in the South African legal fraternity.

Join the initiative

Overview

Recognising that progress has been made in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the South African legal fraternity, but acknowledging that there is still significant room for improvement, the SA GC for D&I initiative aims to foster greater inclusivity within the community by providing a platform for corporate entities, law firms, groups of advocates, and other legal sector players to engage on critical diversity issues.

Purpose

We believe diversity enhances and benefits organisations, the legal professions, and society. Therefore, we are committed to working collaboratively to promote and maintain diverse, equitable, and inclusive working environments. We are also committed to initiating and/or supporting programmes and interventions aimed at meaningfully, intentionally, and substantively identifying and addressing priority development areas within the legal fraternity; and to individually and as a collective, advocating for, demonstrating, practising, and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.

Statement of support

The SA GC for D&I initiative is founded on a Statement of Support that articulates the commitment of participating members and partners to collaborate in creating diverse, equitable, and inclusive legal workplaces.

The Statement serves as the foundation for various programmes designed to address priority areas for development within the profession. The signatory companies commit to advocating for diversity, inclusion, and true ubuntu-inspired inclusivity, individually and collectively.

Read our Statement of Support

Working committee

The working committee is appointed by, and reports to, the steering committee and is tasked with signing up new members and partner members, overseeing the working groups and their outputs, coordinating the members’ group to make decisions on research topics, and making proposals to the steering committee relating to events, initiatives, and opportunities.

Working groups

Working groups are ad hoc, multi-stakeholder committees of voluntary members formed to discuss, debate, and research topics of interest to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the South African legal fraternity. Examples of working groups include neurodiversity, gender identity, moving beyond diversity to equity and inclusion, racial dynamics in the South African legal fraternity, and talent management for diversity, equity and inclusion.

Talent Management for DEI Outcomes

This working group considers the full value chain of talent management, from identifying and recruiting to retaining and promoting quality diverse...

Gender Identity and Belonging

Despite significant efforts, male-female gender equity remains unsolved, including in the legal sector. More recently, public discussions about...

Neurodiversity in the Legal Sector

Neurodiversity is a comparatively poorly understood aspect of diversity. We believe that the legal sector will benefit from better awareness of...

Racial Dynamics in the Legal Sector

Racial dynamics in South Africa continue to be a stubborn challenge for us as a nation, and the legal sector is no different. In this working group,...

Moving Beyond Diversity to Focus on Inclusion and Equity

This working group seeks to understand the ways in which we can go beyond diversity to deliver inclusion, equity and a sense of belonging. Our view...