Overcoming Barriers: Women Legal Leaders from Switzerland

Women’s empowerment and their increased representation in the workforce have unachieved dreams that the whole world has been striving towards. Be it activism, policy changes or initiatives led by companies, affirmative action is the only way to achieve gender equality.

Every country has a unique relationship with gender-based development. When it comes to Switzerland, the scenario has been improving drastically over the past several years. The country is doing very well to close the gender-gap by taking a lead in women’s representation in politics and business.

Taking a closer look at the country’s legal landscape, we see a steady rise in representation, largely in junior roles. However, significant structural barriers for women to reach top leadership still exist, despite the overall positive legal frameworks for women in business and society being very well in place. Some of the primary barriers are gender pay gap, work-life balance challenges, and subtle biases hindering advancement to partner level. Even though there are many female graduates, senior positions in legal firms are still dominated by men, necessitating reforms for mentorship and flexibility to attain full equality.

Between these existing barriers, several women have managed to reach top leadership positions and continue to ace their roles in Switzerland’s legal landscape. The current edition of GWL magazine introduces readers to few such names.

Joining the list is Essi Rimali the Group General Counsel, Vice President and Global Head of Legal and Compliance at HARTING Technology Group. Essi has 20 years of legal experience that spans the globe and has been working in a law firm and legal departments in major corporations in different parts of the world. Her areas of expertise include corporate law, governance, M&A, IP litigation, regulatory compliance and multi-jurisdictional commercial and technology contracts.

Another prolific legal leader featured in the magazine’s current edition is Roba Hamam, the Partner and Legal Director at AIP Genius, a trailblazing company where the two fields of intellectual property and AI-driven legal solutions meet. Roba, who was raised in Lebanon, initially worked in human rights but later found her passion in law and IP as means to make a positive change in society.

Read more about them in the current edition of GWL magazine.

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