DEI Committee Collaborates with Focus on Gender Equity : A Women Led Initiative
Shari Bedker Executive Director , American College of Bankruptcy Melissa S . Kibler , Accordion Chair , American College of Bankruptcy
One of the DEI Committee ’ s goals is to partner with other groups to support education and programs to enhance the greater insolvency industry ’ s diversity awareness and activism . On November 14 , the College cosponsored the program “ Discussion on Gender Awareness - Striving for Gender Parity in the Restructuring Industry ,” along with a newly formed group of women representing a cross-section of disciplines in New York ’ s restructuring community . Focus on Gender Equity , led by co-chairs Deirdre O ’ Connor and Pamela Corrie , collaborated with DEI Committee co-chairs Paul Harner and Judge Erithe Smith to host an event that brought together decision makers at major firms – male and female – to hear two distinguished keynote speakers discuss concrete steps they can take to support gender diversity . The College provided not only its established reputational credibility but also all the administrative support for planning , marketing and executing the
program through the dedicated service of Shari Bedker and her team .
Held at the offices of Kirkland & Ellis , the program had over 160 attendees ranging from managing partners to associates from 90 different firms . The keynote speakers were Dr . Iris Bohnet , a behavioral economist from Harvard University , and Caroline Miller , a leadership coach and educator . Their presentations provided many valuable takeaways to participants , such as :
• Provide advice , not feedback
• “ Cover ” the surroundings to remove information that could cause relative implicit bias in recruiting and evaluations
• Be aware that self-evaluations can unfairly influence performance management
• Hire and promote in “ batches ” to enhance diversity
• Remove potential barriers to entry , such as fees or strict experience / education guidelines , to source a broader pool of candidates
• Consider the impact of gender-specific depictions or terminology
• Create a strategic mastermind group
• Be intentional in advocating for and mentoring women and amplify their accomplishments
Edward Sassower , a member of the Kirkland & Ellis Executive Committee and a
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