We are proud to honor International Women's Day (IWD) 2023 and to celebrate it with our outstanding diverse team and the remarkable women we work with.
In support of our commitment towards overcoming gender bias and inequality, this year, our firm is additionally proud to partner up with the Swiss Embassy in Singapore to support Singaporean non-profit organization AIDHA.
AIDHA is a local organization supporting Migrant Domestic Workers (MDWs) and other low-income women in Singapore to achieve economic independence. Through its courses on financial management, communication, computer skills and entrepreneurship, AIDHA equips women with the skills for saving, investing in productive assets and starting a small business. Just in time for International Women's Day, the new AIDHA campus was inaugurated on March 5th, and Schellenberg Wittmer will sponsor two courses there on Understanding Debt & Introduction to Financial Education starting April 2023.
This year, we are celebrating the tenth anniversary of our presence in Singapore. Our newly promoted Managing Director and Partner Julie Raneda is committed to upholding the firm's dedication to the advancement of women by supporting local organizations. She says: " Over the past years we have managed to strengthen our position in Singapore and by supporting AIDHA, we are happy to share a little bit of our success by bringing knowledge to a group of women that needs it most. The right to education is something that should be accessible to everyone."
Schellenberg Wittmer is also pleased to continue its partnership in 2023 with the Women in White Collar Crime Defense Association (WWCDA), in which litigation co-head Clara Poglia is the Swiss Chapter Leader. The WWCDA promotes diversity in the legal profession, organizes business activities to facilitate networking and business development opportunities for women in the practice. The association provides educational programming focused on the defense of government enforcement actions and internal investigations, compliance and ethics issues.
In addition, our Gender Diversity Taskforce is actively driving initiatives that support the professional advancement of our female team members through coaching and mentoring, strengthen the compatibility of family and career, and support projects against gender bias and inequality. We believe that gender equality should be a given, and promoting diversity within the workforce is part of the firm's key values, contributing to our on-going success, strategy and vision.