To celebrate International Women's Day (IWD) 2023, Forsters is delighted to be releasing a series of Q&As with some of our partners and employees who go above and beyond to champion equity across our business.

We hope they will provide an insight into what drives those individuals who are really pushing the equity agenda forward.

Amy France is a Partner in our Commercial Real Estate team and Joint Head of EDI at Forsters. Amy shares her journey into law, balancing working and parenting and her thoughts on steps we can take to achieve greater equity in the workplace. Read more about Amy below:

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.

I'm a Partner in the Commercial Real Estate team at Forsters. I began my career at Forsters as a trainee back in 2008 and was promoted to Partner last year. Since then, I have been co-lead on EDI matters at the firm, alongside Charlie Mieville.

2. How does this year's theme of Embrace Equity resonate with you?

Being a lawyer, I have a keen sense of justice and the concepts of fairness and impartiality are integral to this. There's more that we can all do, though, to ensure that we are promoting equity in all areas of our lives, and particularly in the workplace. Which is why I think Embrace Equity is a great theme for this year's IWD.

3. Have you ever experienced being treated inequitably in your career? If so, how did you move forward from it?

In all honesty, I can't say that I've ever felt that I've been treated inequitably, however one part of my career which I found difficult was the period around going on maternity leave and then returning to work. Somewhat naively I hadn't really thought about the impact that having a family would have on my career path. Inevitably, though, taking months away from the workplace on maternity leave and returning to my career on a part-time basis had an impact on my role and what I could achieve. I had to find my peace with the fact that career progression was just going to take me a little longer. I firmly believe, though, that life is a marathon and not a sprint.

4. Tell us about your most inspiring female role models (whether at Forsters, clients, or beyond).

At Forsters we are inundated with inspiring female role models – in fact there are too many to mention! Smita Edwards, our former senior partner, has always been an inspiration to me – we've worked together since I was a trainee and her support and belief in me has been invaluable. Natasha Rees and Emily Exton, our current Senior Partner and Managing Partner, are also wonderful examples of women being at the very top of the business and bringing their own personal styles to the role. And finally my mum is my most constant inspiring female role model – as a single parent she ploughed everything into ensuring her children had the best base on which to thrive in their adult lives, both personally and professionally.

5. What has been the highlight of your career?

Being made a Partner at Forsters last year has to be my career highlight. It was the culmination of many years of hard work and commitment, and I was incredibly proud to have achieved what had always been a dream when I started my career in law.

6. What has been your biggest career challenge(s)?

After I left university, I worked in politics for a few years and making the transition into law was my first career challenge. Applying for training contracts was the first time I'd experienced that kind of demanding and competitive recruitment process. I learned a lot from that and the various setbacks I had to overcome to secure a training contract. As I mentioned earlier, I think the other big career challenge for me has been having a family and how to juggle that with work.

7. What is the best advice you have been given?

"Be nice to everyone"- and "good enough is ok" – you don't have to always strive for perfection.

8. What message would you send to young women today?

Believe in yourself and put yourself forward. I think women have a natural tendency to be self-deprecating, but we need to find our inner self-confidence and not hold ourselves back.

9. What do you think are the most effective steps men can take to help achieve gender equity in the workplace?

At Forsters we have lots of men who have taken or are in the process of taking parental leave, and we have lots of committed fathers who want to ensure that they take an active role in parenting their children. This is a brilliant way of achieving gender equity in the workplace – when men and women are seen as equal parents and the same societal expectations are placed on them, this breaks down the inequality which can arise between men and women where women traditionally have taken the larger share of this burden.

10. Have you seen progress in the area of gender equity, and equity generally, over the course of your career?

Possibly I've just ended up in very gender equal organisations and companies, but I feel like even back when I started out in my career the fact that I was a woman would never have held me back. In terms of equity generally, I think we are seeing some real progress but there's still work to be done. In the legal profession I think we can find that certain groups are not so well represented. As co- lead on EDI I am trying to ensure that here at Forsters we work on ensuring that we are attracting as diverse a workforce as possible, and once here we work hard to retain that diversity by engendering an open, inclusive and respectful workplace.

11. In what areas do you feel there is work to be done?

I think there is work to be done in terms of racial diversity within our workforce and also social mobility. I also think there is work to be done in relation to ensuring those with disabilities have the same opportunities as those without disabilities. In general, I think we should all be working towards being more curious about others, and therefore more attuned to what makes us different but also what binds us together as members of the human race. Approaching everyone with kindness and respect also goes a long way.