Influencing Inclusion and Creating Client-Facing Opportunities for Women

Nice profile piece featuring Narges Kakalia and her experiences as a litigator and her passion for driving change as our Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.  This article references my team's work to address business development activity levels specific to women attorneys.  This initiative kicked off in 2015 and over time has made a difference.  Lead generation and sales activity is tracked in our CRM system and we use that data to analyze inclusion statistics and activity levels for women.  We look at how many women are initiating and driving client development opportunities and how many women are being included in the opportunities driven by men.  We analyze this at the firm and practice levels and look for ways to positively influence the trend line.  By looking at the data each quarter and discussing it, the BD team has been able to support women more effectively through training, coaching, integration, and behind-the-scenes advocacy.  Narges is correct to point out that it takes creating an infrastructure and looking at your processes through a DEI lens.