2022-09-06 00:00:00
On 28 July 2022, the WTO announced the launch of a database collecting commitments for gender equality in regional trade agreements (“RTAs”). The database collects and covers over 300 gender provisions included in over 100 RTAs currently in force and notified to the WTO by its members. This tool is designed to complement the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender in their work related to data collection, one of its top priorities. The database covers provisions on gender equality and women’s empowerment in bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements. The provisions can be filtered by parties and regions, by type of gender issues they address, the implementation instruments they provide, and where they are situated in the agreement.
The database is available here.
The press release covering the database’s launch explains the importance of such data collection:
“The WTO Trade and Gender Officer, Lolita Laperle-Forget, who designed the database, stressed the importance of demystifying gender provisions in order to support the formulation of gender responsive RTAs and ensure that women are not left behind in trade opening policies. She observed that, although the first provision on gender equality was integrated in the Treaty of Rome in 1957, the practice of including gender provisions in RTAs truly emerged in the 1990s with the proliferation of RTAs worldwide and continues to increase. Stressing that “the development index of the parties to an RTA has nothing to do with the commitments for gender equality”, Ms Laperle-Forget added that “many of these RTAs between developing countries provide for strong commitments for gender equality with specific action points targeted to promote women's economic empowerment through trade.” She also noted that the database is a one-stop source for policymakers and other stakeholders engaged in trade, including women entrepreneurs. Its objective is to encourage members to formulate and implement provisions that address women's specific needs.”Many ArbitralWomen members work at the intersection of international trade and investment arbitration. Submitted by ArbitralWomen News Director Cherine Foty, Senior Associate, Covington & Burling
2022-09-06 00:00:00
Mute Off Thursdays recently announced that it will welcome four new Mute Off Co-Chairs: ArbitralWomen members Shreya Aren, Lindsay Gastrell and Elena Gutierrez García de Cortázar as well as Jennifer Bryant. The four co-chairs will take over from the founders of the Mute Off Thursdays online forum: ArbitralWomen members Ema Vidak Gojković, Gaëlle Filhol, Catherine Anne Kunz and Claire Morel de Westgaver.
The group has also announced plans to launch a tool for promoting women in international arbitration: Compendium of Unicorns – A Global Guide to Women Arbitrators. It will feature over 175 female arbitration practitioners including many ArbitralWomen members. The tool aims to create an easier way to appoint women arbitrators by articulating precisely their focus and knowledge in specific industry areas, geographical regions and with national laws. This approach considers feedback from counsel and arbitral institutions on what specific information can assist in finding and appointing qualified female arbitrators. The result will be a booklet with women arbitrators, sorting them by industry/geography/languages and other criteria. It will be circulated to arbitration practitioners in the Mute Off community and to arbitral institutions.
ArbitralWomen reported on Mute Off Thursdays just after it was founded in 2020 and again on the occasion of Mute Off’s first anniversary on 15 April 2021. The four founders established Mute Off Thursdays in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic as a way to help women leaders in international arbitration stay connected, share knowledge, support and promote one another. Mute Off members meet via Zoom at the same time on Thursday each week (9am ET). At most sessions, one woman from the group – including many ArbitralWomen Board members and members – makes a brief presentation about an issue that she has encountered in her practice or that falls within her area of expertise. The presentation is then followed by a group discussion, and to encourage an open exchange among the participants, the Chatham House rule applies. Other sessions have featured external speakers, such as a business coach and voice trainer to help participants hone their soft skills.
Mute Off launched in April 2020 with 42 women. Today there are nearly 600 members of the Mute Off community, all of whom have at least seven years of experience as a lawyer in arbitration. The popularity of the initiative has also led to the creation of Young Mute Off Thursdays, a sister organisation of younger women practitioners.
Submitted by ArbitralWomen News Director Cherine Foty, Senior Associate, Covington & Burling and Mute Off Thursdays Co-Chair Lindsay Gastrell, Senior Counsel at Arbitration Chambers
2022-06-29 00:00:00
30 June 2022 – ArbitralWomen is pleased to announce the appointment of seven new members of its Advisory Council. The Advisory Council, composed of several former ArbitralWomen Board members and officers, provides advice and guidance to the Board of ArbitralWomen.
The new members will join ArbitralWomen’s Advisory Board with effect from 1 July 2022, upon stepping down from the Board of ArbitralWomen, and include Dana MacGrath, Immediate Past President of ArbitralWomen, and independent arbitrator at MacGrath Arbitration, based in New York, together with:
ArbitralWomen is an international non-governmental organisation for the promotion of women and diversity in international dispute resolution. For almost 30 years, ArbitralWomen has developed many programmes and opportunities to support and promote women in international dispute resolution as well serving as a leader in the efforts to overcome gender bias in the legal profession.
Of note is ArbitralWomen’s Diversity Toolkit™, a unique training programme designed to help practitioners identify bias and explore ways to address and overcome it, which was shortlisted for the Equal Representation in Arbitration (ERA) Pledge Award.
ArbitralWomen has a mentorship programme and a parental mentorship programme and regularly promotes the achievements and activities of its members in its News Alerts, on its webpage dedicated to news about its members, and in its periodic Newsletters.
- Juliette Fortin, Immediate Past Treasurer, and Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, based in Paris
- Yasmine Lahlou, Partner at Chaffetz Lindsey, based in New York
- Amanda Lee, Immediate Past Communications Director, and Consultant at Costigan King, based in London
- Donna Ross, Founder of Donna Ross Dispute Resolution, based in Melbourne
- Patricia Nacimiento, Head of the German dispute resolution team at Herbert Smith Freehills, based in Frankfurt
- Rose Rameau, Managing Partner of Rameau Law, based in Washington, DC
ArbitralWomen Advisory Council
(new members indicated by an asterisk):| Name | Nationality(ies) | City(ies) of Residence |
|---|---|---|
| Lorraine Brennan | American | New York |
| Dominique Brown-Berset | Swiss | Geneva |
| Gillian Carmichael Lemaire | British and Scottish | London |
| Juliette Fortin * | French | Paris |
| Yasmine Lahlou * | American, French and Moroccan | New York |
| Amanda Lee * | British | London |
| Dana MacGrath * | American | New York |
| Karen Mills | American | Jakarta |
| Gabrielle Nater-Bass | Swiss | Zurich |
| Rose Rameau * | American and Haitian | Washington, DC |
| Donna Ross * | American and Australian | Melbourne |
2022-06-29 00:00:00
30 June 2022 – ArbitralWomen is pleased to announce the results of the election of its incoming Board of Directors for the 2022-2024 Term, which includes nine new members out of the 18 elected in June 2022.
The incoming Board of Directors selected Louise Woods, Partner at Vinson & Elkins in London, to assume the role of President of the Board, and Gaëlle Filhol, Managing Partner at Betto Perben Filhol, to assume the role of Vice President. As Vice President, Ms. Filhol will also assume the role of Chair of Young ArbitralWomen Practitioners (YAWP), ArbitralWomen’s young practitioner group launched by former ArbitralWomen Vice President Gabrielle Nater-Bass.
“I am honoured to have been selected to serve as President of the Board of ArbitralWomen and look forward to working with the diverse and talented women elected to the 2022 Board” said Ms. Woods. “We will miss Dana MacGrath, our outgoing President, who has done a fantastic job of leading the organisation over the past 4 years. I am very grateful to be joined by Gaëlle Filhol, as Vice President. She brings several years of experience on the Board of ArbitralWomen, having most recently served as Secretary. I look forward to working with Gaëlle and the rest of the 2022 Board as we continue the important work that ArbitralWomen does to support, promote and encourage women in international dispute resolution all over the world.”
“I am very grateful to have worked under Dana MacGrath’s leadership over the past four years. The organization has benefited tremendously from Dana’s energy and vision. I could see no better successor than Louise Woods, who is not only an accomplished lawyer but also a strong advocate for women in arbitration. I look forward to assisting Louise in her new role and continuing to promote women in arbitration” said Ms. Filhol.
The 2022 Executive Board also includes Gisèle Stephens-Chu, Founder of Stephens Chu Dispute Resolution, who will serve as Secretary, Marion Lespiau, Senior Director in the London Economic and Consulting practice at FTI Consulting, who will serve as Treasurer, Paris-based independent arbitrator and counsel Maria Beatriz Burghetto, who will serve as Communications Director, and co-founders Louise Barrington and Mirèze Philippe.
The incoming Board members are from many countries and include arbitrators, experts, and practitioners.
“It has been an honour and a privilege to lead ArbitralWomen for the last four years, and I wish our talented incoming Board a successful term ahead” said Ms. MacGrath, outgoing President of ArbitralWomen.
ArbitralWomen wishes to thank outgoing ArbitralWomen President Dana MacGrath, and the following 2020 Board members who are rotating off the Board for their hard work and dedication to ArbitralWomen’s mission to promote women and diversity in dispute resolution: Affef Ben Mansour, Juliette Fortin, Yasmine Lahlou, Amanda Lee, Patricia Nacimiento, Alison Pearsall, Rose Rameau, Donna Ross, Vanina Sucharitkul, and Erika Williams. We look forward to their continued involvement in our activities and initiatives as ArbitralWomen members.
“We are blessed to have had tireless, talented and dedicated Board Directors who contributed not only by continuing ArbitralWomen’s many projects, both old and new, but who also improved many signature ArbitralWomen programmes” said ArbitralWomen Co-Founders Louise Barrington and Mirèze Philippe.
Ms. Barrington and Ms. Philippe continued: “Under the leadership of Dana MacGrath, ArbitralWomen’s governance has become stronger and stronger, we are grateful for her work, day in day out. It is difficult to mention every Board Director, we are grateful to them all. We wish however to extend our profound thanks to two Executive Committee members who held very important roles: Juliette Fortin who served as Treasurer for eight years and Amanda Lee who served as Communications Director. We look forward to continued efforts with the new Board and the new members whom we welcome. We are delighted that Louise Woods as President and Gaëlle Filhol as Vice-President will continue bringing the organisation forward, thanks to the excellent experience they have gained on the Board in recent years”.
Please join us in congratulating the 2022 ArbitralWomen Board Members set out in the table below:
ArbitralWomen is an international non-governmental organisation for the promotion of women and diversity in international dispute resolution. For almost 30 years, ArbitralWomen has developed many programmes and opportunities to support and promote women in international dispute resolution as well serving as a leader in the efforts to overcome gender bias in the legal profession.
Of note is ArbitralWomen’s Diversity Toolkit™, a unique training programme designed to help practitioners identify bias and explore ways to address and overcome it, which was shortlisted for the Equal Representation in Arbitration (ERA) Pledge Award.
ArbitralWomen has a mentorship programme and a parental mentorship programme and regularly promotes the achievements and activities of its members in its News Alerts, on its webpage dedicated to news about its members, and in its periodic Newsletters.
ArbitralWomen Board of Directors 2022-2024 Term
(new members indicated by an asterisk)| Name | Nationality(ies) | City(ies) of Residence |
|---|---|---|
| Louise Barrington | Canadian | Hong Kong and Toronto |
| Katherine Bell * | British and Swiss | Zurich |
| Catherine Bratic * | American and Italian | Houston |
| Maria Beatriz Burghetto | Argentinian and Spanish | Paris |
| Elizabeth Chan | British and New Zealander | Hong Kong |
| Sally El Sawah * | Egyptian and French | Paris and Cairo |
| Gaëlle Filhol | French | Paris |
| Cherine Foty | American and French | Washington, DC |
| Nata Ghibradze * | Georgian | Munich |
| Sara Koleilat-Aranjo | French and Lebanese | Dubai |
| Floriane Lavaud * | French | New York |
| Alina Leoveanu * | French and Romanian | Paris |
| Marion Lespiau * | British and French | London |
| Mirèze Philippe | Lebanese and French | Paris |
| Rebeca Mosquera | American and Panamanian | New York |
| Nesreen Osman * | British and Sudanese | Dubai |
| Rekha Rangachari | American | New York |
| Gisèle Stephens-Chu | British and French | Paris |
| Mary Thomson * | British, Chinese, and Malaysian | London and Singapore |
| Louise Woods | British | London |
2022-06-24 00:00:00
ArbitralWomen members have been following with interest the developments regarding the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada, the European Union and its Member States (CETA) to remedy the under-representation of women for roles in dispute settlement under Article 29 of the CETA.
Women around the world applauded when the European Commission became a signatory to the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge (ERA Pledge) in December 2020. You can find the European Commission press release here.
Fast-forward to late June 2022: the European Commission demonstrates that it “walks the talk” regarding its commitment to improving gender diversity and the ERA Pledge, releasing an expanded pool of arbitrators that includes an increased number of women, many of whom are ArbitralWomen members.
More specifically, the European Commission published a pool of almost 400 individuals eligible for appointment in bilateral disputes under trade agreements with third countries as arbitrators and/or trade and sustainable development (TSD) experts. The expanded pool responds to demands from stakeholders and the European Parliament for a more transparent, independent, and inclusive process. Pool members come from diverse backgrounds and include legal practitioners and academics from around the world and across the EU.
The Commission will draw from the new pool to propose the appointment of arbitrators and TSD experts in specific cases, or for pre-agreed lists (rosters) under the relevant bilateral agreements with third countries. More information on this and the process by which the pool was created can be found here.
We congratulate all arbitrators and TSD experts included in the pool, including but not limited to the more than 15 ArbitralWomen members listed below (in alphabetical order):
- Susan Ahern (Arbitrator)
- Claudia Annacker (Arbitrator)
- Krystle Baptista Serna (Arbitrator and TSD Expert)
- Maria Beatriz Burghetto (Arbitrator)
- Sofia Cozac (Arbitrator)
- Michela D’Avino (Arbitrator)
- Belen Olmos Giupponi (Arbitrator and TSD Expert)
- Andrea Hulbert (Arbitrator Chair)
- Jean Kalicki (Arbitrator Chair)
- Louise Reilly (Arbitrator)
- Nazareth Romero (Arbitrator and TSD Expert)
- Monique Sasson (TSD Expert)
- Ana Stanic (Arbitrator and TSD Expert)
- Erica Stein (Arbitrator)
- Deva Villanua (Arbitrator and TSD Expert)
- Janet Whittaker (Arbitrator and TSD Expert and Arbitrator Chair)
- Galina Zukova (Arbitrator)
2022-06-17 00:00:00
The American Arbitration Association-International Commercial Dispute Resolution Foundation invites grant proposals seeking between $50,000 and $250,000 in funding to support programmes that will address any of the following priority areas:
- Bridge Community Conflictwith a focus on civil discourse seeking to mend societal divisions
- Prevent and Reduce Violencewith a focus on vulnerable and underserved communities and police/social service partnerships
- Support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusionwith a focus on access to justice