Women in Public Leadership initiative launched by female lawyers

Dec 01, 2015

Written By Emma Finamore, Editor, AllAboutLaw.co.uk

They were joined by the former chief of staff to Michelle Obama and award-winning political journalists.

Two prominent international lawyers have launched an initiative to encourage more women to progress to high positions in the legal profession, where less than one in five partners are female.

Pavani Reddy, managing partner of Zaiwalla & Co, and Zoya Burbeza, head of Zaiwalla & Co’s Russia and CIS Desk, were two of the high profile guests at the launch of the Women in Public Leadership (WIPL) initiative at the University of Chicago last week.

On her appointment to managing partner of Zaiwalla & Co – an international law firm based in the City of London – Reddy became the youngest Asian female to head a London law firm.

She has had a hugely successful career to date and has represented high profile clients such as the Dalai Lama, the Gandhi’s and the TATA’ corporate conglomerate, to name but a few.

“In the legal sector, the number of women in the industry has significantly risen and, in some firms, now outnumber men. However, progression is still a major issue,” Reddy said.

“Strikingly, women account for less than one in five of full equity partners in London’s top 10 law firms, whilst the gender pay gap at the top is still alarming.

“Programmes like Women in Public Leadership are vital to encouraging women to strive for high-profile jobs and give them the confidence and skills they need to make it at the top.”

WIPL has been spearheaded by the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, a leading policy analysis centre in the US, which hosted a five-day programme.

Prominent female leaders were brought together to equip a select cohort of executive women for greater leadership in government, politics, philanthropy and advocacy.

The event was led by keynote speeches from Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Barack Obama and chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls, and Ertharin Cousin, executive director of the UN World Food Programme.

Other guests included Susan Cher, former chief of staff to Michelle Obama and now leader of the university’s Barack Obama Presidential Library and Museum initiative, and Jessica Yellin, an award-winning journalist who served as CNN’s chief White House Correspondent.

Zoya Burbeza, Head of Zaiwalla & Co.’s Russia and CIS Desk, said: “Women have made great strides in regards to reaching positions which before were exclusive to men, and Ms Jarrett is a prime example of a woman in public life achieving great things.”

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