Jodi Gordon

You may be thinking that I’m over a week late with this blog, however in my opinion, discussion around this topic should never just be about one day! To truly inspire women and girls to feel included, this conversation has to extend well beyond 8th March each year.

Perhaps it’s cynical to say, but it does often feel that many companies and organisations post on IWD each year about their fantastic female staff without giving them a platform the remaining 365 days (this leap year). The Law Society of Scotland collect diversity data annually at the point of solicitors applying for their practising certificate renewal. On average, 80 per cent of the profession take part in the questionnaire and in 2022/23 the statistics showed that 57 per cent of the profession are now female. The issue in respect of inclusion, however, is that the majority of ‘top roles’ are still held by men.

At RTA Law, the concept of inclusion has been present since day one, almost 13 years ago. Brenda Mitchell, the founding partner had a wealth of experience in personal injury work before starting our niche firm. We only represent vulnerable road users and whilst both cyclists and motorcyclists represent a small proportion of total road users, we are acutely aware of the devastating consequences when they are involved in a road traffic collision.

The representation of vulnerable groups is the founding principal of what we do. We are not only passionate about our work as lawyers, but we also want to make a positive impact on road culture to reduce the number of seriously injured and fatal cases we see occurring year on year.

This passion is evident because we have a female at the helm who quite literally inspires inclusion. Our legal team is perfectly balanced with five females and five males. Everyone’s voice matters!

But, do not just take my word for it. When I sat down to put ‘pen to paper’ or should I say fingers to keyboard, I asked the team on their thoughts. Does having a female-led team make a difference?

This was the response; not only is it empowering to have strong female leaders, there is a subtle difference in corporate culture with greater empathy and more open communication at all levels. A more collaborative approach means that the team works better together and, in turn, that makes us more successful.

The IWD sentiment that when we inspire others to understand and value the inclusion of women, we forge a better world, could not be more true for our team. Inclusion for us means listening to all those at the table, no matter gender or background. Diversity allows more viewpoints to be heard and considered.

This is of particular importance for our firm because our client base is not just one gender. They come from all different backgrounds and have different needs. With real inclusion within our team, we can better represent our clients when they need us most and that is something we will always strive to achieve.

Jodi Gordon is a partner at RTA LAW LLP