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At KWM, we believe that responsible business is everyone’s business, and good business. 

Our Responsible Business framework has six divisions:

  • Diversity, Inclusion & Wellbeing
  • Ethics, Risk & Integrity
  • Community & Social Impact
  • First Nations People & Communities
  • Climate Change and Environment
  • Pro Bono & Social Impact
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KWM Responsible Business Framework
For KWM, being a responsible business means looking inwards and outwards, while being highly attuned to the needs of our people and the world.

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833KB, 10 Pages

Diversity, Inclusion & Wellbeing

Our business is built on diversity and the lived and living experiences of our people

 

We strive to create an environment where our people feel safe to be their authentic selves and inspire our people to understand, explore and appreciate the critical role wellbeing plays in a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Having a diverse workforce is only one part of the equation. Inclusion is critical. Inclusion and inclusive leadership empower our people to feel valued, respected, and safe and unlock the value of their diverse perspectives and skills. 

Gender Pay Gap Employer Statement

This year for the first time, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) will publish the pay gap results of individual law firms. We welcome this as KWM is committed to transparency and sharing knowledge to drive positive change for women in our industry.  We are very proud to report that we are performing well in “like-for-like” roles. We have a 0%-3% difference across legal career levels, some favouring men and others women, and a 0%-6% difference in Shared Services, mostly in favour of women. Organisation-wide, we have a pay gap of 9% (average total remuneration) and 12.3% (median total remuneration) in favour of men. This is mainly due to a segment of our workforce being employed in traditional feminised clerical and administrative roles which attract lower market value pay than other roles in the firm. While this is an issue across the legal industry and not unique to KWM, we are doing what we can to remediate this gap. You can learn more and read the Statement below.

Key contact: Corinne West, Head of Diversity & Inclusion

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Gender Pay Gap Employer Statement
Workplace Gender Equality Agency - February 2024.

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6.73MB, 8 Pages

Ethics, Risk & Integrity 

We minimise risk to maximise opportunities

Risk management is often seen through a compliance and obligation lens. At KWM, we approach risk through an opportunity lens, focusing on the upside and reward for the firm.

All businesses must confront and overcome risks on their pathways to success. For 200 years, KWM have been committed to helping our people and our clients manage these risks to enable their growth. Throughout this time, we’ve always acknowledged that a culture of ethics and integrity is key to successful risk management. 

Key contact: Carolynne Lepp, Manager of Operational Risk & Compliance

Community & Social Impact

We stand together with our communities to create lasting solutions

We understand that creating sustained generational change starts with our local communities. It is only by bringing our collective voices together, listening to and learning from community, that we can have open conversation about the issues that matter.

We believe how we work is as important as the work itself, so we're committed to social impact through deep, genuine, long-term, and trusted partnerships with community-led organizations, emerging leaders, and respected advocates.

Developping stronger partnerships with community enables us to focus more holistically on the outcomes, needs, opporunities, and challenges as defined by communities. We recognise as a firm that we're on a journey of continous learning and that we don't always know what is best, so we listen to the voices of community to guide us to the answers.

Our five-year social impact strategy, Standing Strong & Tall Together, focuses on strengthening communities, creating generational change, and elevating young people so that they stand strong and tall.

Our work closely aligns with the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and other significant frameworks. Through our trusted partnerships, we seek to strengthen communities via strategic legal, justic, and advisory projects, holistic pathways programs, and targeted philanthropy and grants.

Key contacts: Dusan Stevic, Senior Associate & Pro Bono Manager & Clementine Johnson, Head of Social Impact & Shared Value.

First Nations Peoples & Communities

Communities know best and lead us

 

For too long, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been excluded from Australian legal systems. This exclusion has contributed to the harm that legal systems have caused and is a factor in the underrepresentation of First Nations people across the legal profession. 

We seek to be a respectful facilitator, acknowledging that trust isn’t transferable and must be earned.

To do this, we look to build and sustain long-term relationships with community that are deeply embedded with respect, mutual trust, and safety. Only through these relationships are we able to enter community spaces acknowledging the innate and pervasive power imbalance that exists within our society, and the over 60,000 years of deep expertise of First Nations Peoples.

Communities know best and lead us. So, our approach is intentionally focused on co-designing solutions with First Nations Peoples by listening to, and learning from, them. They are the architects of tomorrow’s solutions.

Our focus on deep listening, from a place of privilege, has resulted in integrating governance structures such as our First Nations Leaders Circle within our firm so that we can continually listen to their voices, lived experiences, and learn from them. 

Key contact: Donnella Mills, First Nations Lead

Climate Change and Environment

A sustainable future for all relies on the impact we make today

Our environment is rapidly changing, and we must change. 

Climate change is the single greatest existential threat of our time, affecting all aspects of human life and economic activity. It has a measurable impact on our food systems, physical assets, infrastructure, and way of life.

Responding to the issues surrounding climate change presents our firm with a unique opportunity to play a meaningful role as a leader, advisor, and community partner for our people, our clients, and our future.

Our strategy has three pillars:

Reduce

Reduce our emissions and improve our sustainability 

 

Learn

Learn deeply on the topic of climate change (using science as our base) and engage openly

Lead

Demonstrate leadership on climate matters and support our clients and community partners 

Responsible Procurement

We are committed to creating shared value 

How we operate and who we partner with reflects who we are, what we stand for, and where we aspire to be.

Our supply chains are complex, and the global nature of trade means we are at an increased risk of exposure to modern slavery.

We publish our annual Modern Slavery Statement, in accordance with the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2018, outlining the steps we've taken to eliminate modern slavery. We also work with our clients so they can understand the potential risks of modern slavery within their own operations. 

Strong partnerships are central to our commitment to creating shared value.  

For our firm, shared value means creating new opportunities and positive impacts for more people.

By partnering with organisations that share our goals as outlined in our policies and procedures, we can work together to deliver and achieve sustainable outcomes. 

Our Supplier Code of Conduct sets out what we expect from our suppliers regarding responsible procurement, ethical behaviour, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, confidentiality, and privacy matters. In turn, we expect our suppliers to have their own internal policies and procedures that align with and support our Supplier Code of Conduct. 

Key contact: Simon Perry, Procurement Manager

We strive to creat an environment where our people feel safe to be their authentic selves and inspire our people to understand, explore and appreciate the critical role wellbeing plays in a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Having a diverse workforce is only one part of the equation. Inclusion is critical. Inclusion and inclusive leadership empower our people to feel valued, respected, and safe and unlock the value of their diverse perspectives and skills.

want to learn more?

We have a range of local programs and initiatives to support our diversity priorities. Visit our country pages to find out more about what we offer in specific regions.