Co-Chair
Karine Audouze
Co-Chair
Pål Kvernaas
Diversity and Equality Law Committee
The Diversity and Equality Law Committee includes private practitioners, in-house attorneys, and academics working with corporate clients on issues like pay equity, anti-discrimination, and LGBTQ+ rights. Members come from leading law firms, corporations, and various perspectives. The Committee publishes an annual newsletter highlighting new developments and issues of interest. The Committee also comprises the Disability Rights Working Group, focused on disabled individuals' rights in the workplace. The Committee collaborates with the Employment and Industrial Relations Law Committee, the Immigration and Nationality Law Committee , and the Global Employment Institute.
About the Committee
The Diversity and Equality Law Committee comprises private practitioners, in-house attorneys and academics, many of whom work with corporate clients in order to help them fulfil their key goals in such areas as pay equity, prevention of discrimination based on gender, race, religion, age, and disability (among other protected traits), and LGBTQ issues.
Many of these professionals are members of leading law firms or corporations. Of course, we welcome members from all areas and with all perspectives.
The Committee publishes annually the Diversity and Equality Law Committee Newsletter, which gives members an opportunity to bring attention to new developments in their jurisdictions, and other issues of interest.
The Committee also comprises the Disability Rights Working Group, whose members are interested in issues facing disabled individuals and their rights in the working world.
The Committee has been fortunate to enjoy very active support from its officers as well as invaluable input from other committees. It is a sign of the Committee's growing strength that increasingly we are asked to co-sponsor sessions with other IBA committees.
The officers are always keen to encourage others to join in the work so if you would like to contribute an article or suggest a topic for future conferences then please contact any of the officers. E-mail is our preferred means of communication.
We work closely with our colleagues in the other three bodies making up the Human Resources Section: the Employment and Industrial Relations Law Committee, the Immigration and Nationality Law Committee, and the Global Employment Institute. The Human Resources Section Board was established in 2014 in order to coordinate activities and join efforts within the Section. Board members consist of the current and immediate past Chairs of each of the committees in the Section.
Forthcoming conferences and webinars View All Conferences
IBA Annual Conference Toronto 2025
02 Nov - 07 Nov 2025
Toronto , Canada
IBA Annual Conference Copenhagen 2026
04 Oct - 09 Oct 2026
Copenhagen , Denmark
Publications
Navigating the multigenerational workforce and advocating for gender pay equality in the Thai legal sphere
Managing a multigenerational workforce poses challenges for Thai law firms, where traditional values often clash with modern practices. This article explores these challenges, and advocates for gender pay equality, emphasising the need for inclusive policies and proactive measures to bridge generational and gender gaps in the workplace.
Released on Apr 25, 2024
Member States and employers to get ready for more pay transparency in the European Union
On 10 May 2023, the European Union (EU) adopted the Pay Transparency Directive to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (‘the Pay Transparency Directive’ or the ‘Directive’). Member States have until 7 June 2026 to transpose the Directive into their national laws.
Released on Apr 25, 2024
Information and Communication Technologies and its impact on the Generation Gap
In the era of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the immediacy of communications, customers increasingly expect concise, fast and precise responses. Promptly answering to the business requirements is pivotal. Like industrial organisations, those that offer services also need to adapt their processes and resources to meet this demand for agility and efficiency. Digitalisation has become a vital tool to satisfy these needs. It optimises, simplifies and facilitates tasks, increases productivity and improves results. But, for whom?
Released on Apr 25, 2024
Gender pay equality – what is the United Kingdom waiting for?
This article examines the progress of gender pay equality in the UK as of 2024 and considers the possibility of reducing the ‘pay gap’ in the future, looking at developments in certain industries and the EU and US which could be adopted more generally in the UK.
Released on Apr 25, 2024
Subcommittees and other groups
The Diversity and Equality Law Committee also coordinates the activities of the following subcommittees/working groups.
- Disability Rights Working Group