Inspirational Legal Women podcast series, launched by the IBA
The International Bar Association (IBA) Legal Policy & Research Unit (LPRU) has launched the podcast series ‘Inspirational Legal Women’. The series encourages inspirational IBA members with interesting careers and remarkable stories to share their thoughts and experiences about what it means to be a woman in the legal profession and how they have navigated different types of workplaces and challenges over the course of their careers. The LPRU’s Sara Carnegie, Director of Legal Projects, and Isla Tobin, Project Lawyer, will interview women across a variety of legal fields and jurisdictions.
IBA Secretary-General, Deborah Enix-Ross US lawyer at Debevoise and Plimpton LLP based at their New York office for over 20 years, features in the first episode of the series. She co-founded the Women's Interest Network within the American Bar Association's International Law Section, advocating for women's legal issues, something she has continued to do within the IBA. Deborah was President of the American Bar Association from 2022-2023 and named on the Forbes List of America’s top 200 lawyers in 2024.
This episode is followed by insightful, fortnightly instalments with other inspiring colleagues from across the world. The first conversation with Ms Enix-Ross is available to listen to here.
Below are a few excerpts from the podcast.
And so you have to decide, are you going to let someone stand in the way of what your goals are and what you want to achieve? And for me, the answer was no, I'm going to push forward. It may take me longer. It may be harder. It may be that my road is different. But I have a goal in mind, and I am going to do everything in my power to achieve that goal…
When I had the opportunity to appoint arbitrators, US arbitrators, I made sure that there were women. And so that was my way of breaking one barrier and then making sure that other women did not have to face that. I was involved in a group called Arbitral Women. It was women who were involved in international arbitration. It has taken off. It's a global organisation now…
Don't think you have to achieve everything right away. So, follow your passion. Set your own timetable. And then this one is really important to me. Lift as you climb. You may be the first to do something, but don't be the last. You may be the first woman. You may be the only woman, but make it your business to be sure that you're not the last one...
Click here to read the full episode transcript.
Click here to download an image of Deborah Enix-Ross.
The full list of episodes will be available here.
The Inspirational Legal Women podcast series complements the LPRU’s work on gender inequality in the legal profession, including the 50:50 by 2030: A longitudinal study into gender disparity in law project, which aims to explore and address the lack of gender parity across all levels and areas relating to law professionals, with a focus on senior positions. To date, 13 reports have been released as part of the project: England and Wales, Uganda and Spain in 2022; followed by Nigeria, the Netherlands and Chile in 2023; and, in 2024, reports on the Republic of Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Ukraine and Türkiye. In December 2024 the Progress Report was published, which compiled the results of the reports that had been released up to December 2024, providing readers with an overview of the landscape. Also published in 2024 was a case study on Nepal, submitted to the IBA to sit alongside the IBA-written reports.
ENDS
Contact: IBApressoffice@int-bar.org
Notes to the reader:
- Click here for information on the IBA’s 50:50 by 2030 – A Longitudinal Study into Gender Disparity in Law project
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The International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, is the foremost organisation for international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Established in 1947, shortly after the creation of the United Nations, it was born out of the conviction that an organisation made up of the world's bar associations could contribute to global stability and peace through the administration of justice.
The IBA has considerable expertise in providing assistance to the global legal community, and through its global membership, it influences the development of international law reform and helps to shape the future of the legal profession throughout the world.
- Find the IBA on social media here:
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