Abogadas MX, Mexico

International

Abogadas MX, Mexico

A women lawyers’ group which has gone from supporting 20 mentees to an organization of more than 45000 lawyers. With the support of law firms it promotes a culture of inclusion and diversity so that the Mexican lawyers have become agents of change.

Early years and its founder

The Abogadas MX scheme in Mexico arises from the dream of a lawyer, Valeria Chapa, who was convinced of the need to support women at the beginning of their professional career. She found a group of women lawyers with some professional experience and persuaded them to start a pilot mentoring scheme to help younger women lawyers realise their full potential and ensure they did not face the same obstacles she had done.

The project started initially with just twenty mentors and twenty mentees. However, we soon saw the need for a more powerful initiative to empower women in the legal profession and just a year later we formally created an organization. This was with the following mission statement: "We work so that every woman lawyer in Mexico can develop in an inclusive, professional and safe environment and has the tools to reach their full potential and become an agent of change.”

2022: its growth and projects

Eight years after its foundation, Abogadas MX has had an impact on more than 45,000 lawyers in Mexico who have participated in different initiatives and/or have joined our organization or follow us on our social networks. Today, more than 1000 lawyers have participated in our mentoring scheme, and we have secured the sponsorship of more than 50 organizations which includes the most recognized law firms in Mexico and the US as well as large national and international companies.

However, we realized, during the last eight years, that we could not find formal data which evidenced the challenges that women lawyers in Mexico face. Therefore, we decided to carry out the “Study and analysis of MX Lawyers: inclusion of women in leadership positions” with the support of IPADE. We interviewed 313 women lawyers in Mexico, at different stages of their professional life, to identify the main challenges and barriers they face.

Study and analysis of MX Lawyers: inclusion of women in leadership positions

25% said their organization has an inclusive work culture 24% reported that their organization values inclusion. 90% of the participants considered that work models without consideration of work-life balance hinder the growth of women professionally.

The survey also found that how women perceive themselves was a disadvantage. 83% of respondents aspired to leadership positions, yet, 55% of respondents doubted their ability to compete for these positions.

Other obstacles were the lack of knowledge or skills needed for professional development since 77% of respondents considered that they lack the ability to generate professional networks.

Inclusion and empowerment in the workplace – win/win

The inclusion and empowerment of women is a winning strategy for any organization or country. Several international organizations endorse this, for example, it has been seen that the more women participate in the public administration of a country, the lower the levels of corruption there are. In addition, increasing women’s participation in the labour force leads to faster economic growth.

This analysis further gave us important signals in terms of where we should concentrate our work and has informed our working model, to support and encourage women which consists of four main pillars.

The Four Pillars

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT We offer technical training tools through workshops, seminars and scholarships for postgraduate studies in conjunction with some of the universities and law schools. We also deliver a class at the most prestigious Law Universities in México in order to provide knowledge and help future lawyers in terms of diversity, leadership and inclusion in the legal sector.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT We provide tools for the development of models that offer a balance in the professional, family, social and intellectual arena through different workshops.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT We seek to leave a mark on following generations. To achieve this, we create partnerships with international organizations and civil society associations, such as the Study on Judicial Independence and the participation of women in the judiciary or Minimum Standards of Diversity and Inclusion for law firms in Mexico, with which we intend to lay the foundations in terms of diversity and inclusion. There have been 38 Mexican or international firms who have so far participated in the first stage of the project whose guide is the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) promoted by UN Women.

We also have a scholarship programme for university students where every year we award 50-100 percent scholarships in order that future lawyers can study English classes, financial education, and participate in internships within law firms and have access to an annual workshop.

GENERATION OF A SUPPORT NETWORK OR NETWORKING We promote collective collaboration among women and raise awareness about the benefits of generating professional networks.

There are two additional initiatives that impact on the four “pillars” described above:

Annual leadership and professional development workshop: Our flagship event brings together more than 600 lawyers in the country, providing them with a space to develop skills, networking and a platform for interaction between colleagues.

Mentoring programmer: We pair a mentor with a lawyer at the beginning of their professional journey in order receive support and work on some aspect that allows them to grow personally and professionally.

The positive economic impact of women working

The legal sector market indicates that more women working has a positive economic impact and generates greater opportunities. Abogadas MX therefore advocates promoting the creation of a legal culture which includes the gender perspective as fundamental. This in turn improves competitiveness, eliminates biases and challenges traditions for the Mexican culture and economy.

The current law reform supports the efforts of Abogadas MX, such as, the Mexican Constitution in the matter of human rights or the reforms to the Federal Labour Law to deter and punish situations of violence against women in the workplace. These are important legal advances as they create a binding precedent to follow for States, companies, and individuals.

The realities of diversity and inclusion in the professional field is extremely complex but we have witnessed positive changes and significant effects. There is more to do, and our work would not be possible without the support of law firms and organizations that believe in the importance of change and promote inclusive policies in the workplace.

At Abogadas MX we propose and promote programmes that contribute to a culture of inclusion and diversity so that the country’s lawyers are agents of change now and in the future.

Antonia Rodriguez

Antonia Rodriguez

Executive Director

Abogadas Mx