INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION 1/3LY
ALEC That is a very interesting story. So howmany members do you have now? LOUI SE I think that the number of paid upmembers is probably around 300women fromacross the globe. However, we have at least 1,000womenwho say that they are part of ArbitralWomen. We promote women in dispute resolution through events, social gatherings, mentoring, coaching and granting awards to assist women law students to participate at the VisMoots in Vienna and Hong Kong. We also have onemajor event per year and we are present at the IBAmeeting and organize roundtable discussions. Our website offers a ‘find a practitioner service’ which allows the user to search for an arbitrator, mediator, expert, lawyer or practitioner in any jurisdiction or field of business by selecting criteria. ALEC It sounds like there are a lot of benefits to joining the group. Why do you think that some women in arbitration are reluctant to join ArbitralWomen?
LOUI SE There are some voices which say that ArbitralWomen is just as bad as the old boys’ club because we don’t let men in. There are reasons for it and one of them is that once you have aman in the group the energy changes. Studies have proved this, and it is quite amazing. We want a forum where women can be stars. That said, most of our events are open tomen; only a few are dedicated to women, like our speed networking events which take place around the world. A lot of men like to come to our events as it shows that they are supportive of women in arbitration. ALEC I have attended a few ArbitralWomen events myself. What do you think about the numbers of women involved in arbitration now comparedwithwhen you first started ArbitalWomen?
LOUI SE There are definitelymore women involved in arbitration today comparedwith 25 years ago. We havemade a great deal of progress, withwomen leadingmany arbitration commissions, serving as arbitrators andmediators, and taking amore visible role in the leadership of the arbitration community. On the Counsel side, there are hundreds of women involvedwhich is very encouraging but when you talk about women as arbitrators there is still a long, long, long way to go. Sadly, women are under-represented as lead counsel in arbitrations and as panel members in high-value, high-profile cases. It is going in the right direction but more work has to be done if women are to achieve equal status withmen in this field. As we focusmore attention on the gender gap, people are thinking of ways to diminish it. ArbitralWomen is publishing a joint special issue with OGEMID about diversity in arbitration. The key is persuading the clients and their lawyers that diversity on a tribunal is a positive thing, that can bring them better results. Women’s progress in international arbitration is still verymuch awork in progress.
S ADLY, WOMEN ARE UNDER- REPRESENTED A S LE AD COUNSEL IN ARBI TRAT IONS AND A S PANEL MEMBERS IN HIGH -VALUE , HIGH - PROF ILE C A SES .
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