Gary McDiarmid, CEO of law firm Russell McVeagh has been implementing diversity initiatives throughout their business, especially focusing on attracting more Maori and Pacific Island graduates.
The Champions for Change summit held earlier this week brought together 50 of New Zealand's top CEOs to discuss diversity and inclusion within leadership and to agree upon a national best practice and standardised reporting.
Gary McDiarmid noted that the majority of those CEO's were MALES and largely WHITE MEN, he says this is the ideal opportunity for firms like his to fix things like the ethnicity and gender quotas.
Tongan/Māori lawyer Baron Tavake Afeaki, says "it's taken a while for high profile law firms to recognise the benefits of attracting Māori and Pacific Island law graduates, however better late than never."