Supporting our people and our communities
In FY25, our social impact continued to reflect a balance of external contributions and internal activities. The following charts show how we’re progressing, where we’ve maintained momentum, and where further focus is needed.
Relevant Sustainable Development Goals
As a firm, we set a target of 50 pro bono hours per lawyer per year, we are also a signatory to the National Pro Bono Target set by the Australian Pro Bono Centre (35 hours per lawyer per year). In FY25, our lawyers contributed more than 50,000 hours of pro bono work, averaging 56.6 hours per lawyer.
Our collective efforts focused on a providing support across a range of issues, including to people experiencing homelessness, First Nations communities, and those seeking asylum. Over the financial year, 11% of our pro bono hours were spent on First Nations causes, this is below our target of 15% that is set out in our First Nations Engagement Plan.
Defending press freedom: reforming Australia's secrecy laws
The complexity of Australia's secrecy laws, which include 875 offences across different legislations, poses a challenge for journalists. Lawyers from Allens assisted the Alliance for Journalist Freedom in its submissions to the Commonwealth Government's Review of Secrecy Provisions.
Providing employment law expertise to the LGBTQIA+ community
Through the Inner City Legal Centre pro bono clinic, a roster of Allens lawyers support the ICLC to service clients across NSW who seek employment rights legal advice.
Supporting access to information for the incarcerated in Australia
People incarcerated in Australia have little or no access to the internet, few news sources, and limited opportunities for self-expression. For the past two years, Allens has supported About Time's efforts to reduce the isolation of Australia’s incarcerated population.
Gender representation
In 2017, we set ourselves a 40:40:20 target – 40% women, 40% men, and 20% any gender – for our partnership. We first reached our target in FY24 and sustained that position in FY25.
We also report on gender representation across our Board, Executive Committee and Corporate Services Leadership Team (which includes senior leaders from across our business services teams). While we maintained more than 40% women on our Board, representation on ExCo and the CSLT fell below this threshold. We continue to monitor this and remain committed to achieving and sustaining balanced gender representation across all leadership levels.
40:40:20 has also been achieved across our legal employee base and remains an aspirational benchmark across all role levels, reflecting our commitment to balanced representation. The following provides a snapshot of the gender identity across our entire workforce.
Our gender pay gap
We report our median and average gender pay gaps using the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s (WGEA) definitions and methodology. This helps us track progress, identify areas for improvement, and hold ourselves accountable to our equity goals.
Supporting parents
We continue to offer flexibility and support for all parents. Here we share year-on-year data on parental leave uptake and duration by gender. While the data shows a drop in the proportion of leave taken by men, it also shows the duration of leave taken by men is increasing, helping to normalise shared caring responsibilities. Of those that took parental leave, 96% of women and 100% of men returned to work.
Employee driven committees
Our employee networks play a vital role in shaping and promoting our inclusion and diversity efforts. They bring energy, focus and grassroots perspectives to Allens' culture, commitments, and the community.
AccessAbility focuses on disability and neurodiversity inclusion, ensuring that the firm's environment and practices are accessible to all our people.
ALLin is dedicated to promoting LGBTQIA+ inclusion and diversity within the firm through events, training and initiatives that highlight the importance of an inclusive workplace and support the firm's efforts to create a welcoming environment for all employees.
Cultural Awareness Network (CAN) aims to raise awareness about the different cultures and backgrounds of our people through events and activities that celebrate cultural diversity, share lived experiences and promote understanding and respect among employees.
Reconciliation committees focus on reconciliation efforts through building relationships and understanding with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.
Sports & Wellbeing promotes physical and mental wellbeing through sports events and competitions, fitness classes, and wellbeing initiatives that encourage healthy lifestyles, connection and team spirit.
Women@Allens aims to foster a culture of gender equity, equality and inclusion within the firm, the corporate sector and the communities through five key focus areas: supporting career development, connection, championing gender equity, engaging with community organisations, and driving philanthropy and fundraising initiatives that support people who self-identify as women, non-binary and gender diverse.
- Foundation signatory to the United Nations Global Compact
- Founding member of Supply Nation
- Employer of Choice for Gender Equality by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency for 20 consecutive years
- Gold Employer in Pride in Diversity's Australian Workplace Equality Index 2024
- Signatory to:
- UN Women's Empowerment Principles
- NSW Law Society's Charter for the Advancement of Women in the Legal Profession
- Law Institute of Victoria's Charter for the Advancement of Women in the Legal Profession
- Law Council of Australia's Diversity and Equality Charter
- Member of:
- Diversity Council Australia
- Pride in Diversity
- Australian Disability Network
- Asian Leadership Project
- Sponsor of:
- Chief Executive Women
- Pinnace Foundation
- Diverse Women in Law