21 June 2023 

ACICA Launches Diversity Committee 

ACICA is pleased to announce the official launch of the ACICA Diversity Committee (Committee). 

The objectives of the Committee are to address, explore, educate, learn about, and respond to the diversity of the human experience. It was established as a part of ACICA’s efforts to ensure that it operates as an inclusive, equitable, culturally competent, and supportive arbitration institution.  

The Committee has members from geographic, cultural, ethnic and gender diverse backgrounds and bring with them a range of experience. They are (in alphabetical order):  

  • Cameron Sim of Debevoise & Plimpton, Hong Kong  
  • Chiann Bao of Arbitration Chambers, Singapore as a nominee of R.E.A.L (Racial Equality for Arbitration Lawyers) initiative  
  • Donna Ross of Donna Ross Dispute Resolution, Melbourne as nominee of ArbitralWomen  
  • Gowri Kangeson of DLA Piper, Melbourne
  • Guillermo Garcia-Perrote of Herbert Smith Freehills, Sydney
  • Jay Tseng of Enyo Lawyers, Brisbane
  • Lisa Bingham, Consultant, Belgium
  • Long Pham of Quayside Chambers, Perth
  • Nastasja Suhadolnik of Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Melbourne
  • Swee Im Tan of 39 Essex Chambers, Kuala Lumpur   

Georgia Quick, President of ACICA, Deborah Tomkinson, Secretary-General of ACICA, and Erika Williams, Counsel at ACICA sit alongside the Committee members.  

The Committee was established in November 2022. The official launch took place on 20 June 2023 at ACICA’s Diversity Panel Discussion on Unconscious Bias and the Effects of Assumption in Arbitration.  

Activities so far  

The Committee has already held two meetings and commenced identifying key initiatives and projects to achieve its objectives including improving the gender diversity of the ACICA Arbitrator Panel.  

In an effort to increase the number of women on the ACICA Arbitrator Panel, on International Women’s Day this year, ACICA implemented a three-pronged approach by:   

  1. Identifying female arbitrators listed on other institution’s panels and emailing them directly, inviting them to apply for Fellow membership with ACICA if they met the criteria; 
  2. Emailing representatives of Australian State Bar Associations asking them to put a notice in their respective newsletters inviting female barristers who consider that they meet Fellow criteria to apply for Fellow membership; and 
  3. Emailing current members with a call to action emphasising that ‘Much More Needs To Be Done’. In this email ACICA outlined a number of steps that could be taken and resources available to members to encourage greater diversity in appointments.

The establishment of the Committee supports ACICA’s existing efforts to create greater diversity, demonstrated most recently by the following: 

  • In 2021, ACICA’s Executive team reached gender parity for the first time and achieved greater geographical diversity.   
  • At Australian Arbitration Week 2022, the ACICA/Ciarb Australia International Arbitration Conference featured 41 speakers from eight countries around the world. Nearly 43% of the speakers were women.  
  • ACICA has implemented the Australian Arbitration Week Principles which any organisation intending to hold an event during the week must declare that they will comply with. These Principles include a requirement to ensure a fair gender balance, and the inclusion of diverse speakers, including with regard to ethnicity, geography and culture when planning their events.   

The establishment of the ACICA Diversity Committee will help drive initiatives in all areas in which the institution focuses its efforts.   

For more information, please contact secretariat@acica.org.au.