News / information

The Equal Representation in Arbitration (ERA) Pledge is celebrating its 10th anniversary, marking a decade of efforts to advance gender diversity in international arbitration. Since its launch in 2016, the Pledge has grown into a global initiative with more than 6,000 signatories across 143 countries and has played a significant role in fostering greater transparency and progress in arbitral appointments.  

As the Pledge enters its second decade, a new global leadership team has been appointed. Alexandra van der Meulen (Freshfields) and Antonia Birt (Reed Smith) have been named Co-Chairs of the Global Steering Committee, with Briana Young (Three Crowns) and Yosr Bouassida (Freshfields) appointed as Co-Secretaries. They succeed the outgoing leadership team led by Sylvia Noury KC, founder of the ERA Pledge, who has overseen its developmentsince its inception.  

The new leadership team will build on the Pledge's achievements while continuing to promote more inclusive appointment practices and greater diversity across the arbitration community.  

Read the full press release.

Leading inclusion groups in international arbitration have come together over the past year to collaborate on a joint and shared mission to drive forward broad diversity and inclusion goals in the arbitration community. Read more here.

As we enter the 10th year since the launch of the Pledge, we are excited to bring you the second edition of our Newsletter here.

The Pledge’s India Subcommittee delivered a landmark Arbitration Advocacy Course in Mumbai aimed at addressing a persistent structural gap ininternational arbitration: the limited access of mid-career and senior women lawyers to high-quality advocacy training and courtroom-equivalent experience. Read more about the success of the course here.

The ERA Pledge is delighted to announce the appointment of Camilla Godman, Investment Manager and Senior Legal Counsel at Omni Bridgeway, as the new co-chair of its Corporate Subcommittee. Camilla is taking over from Alison Pearsall (Atol) who will step downfrom the role after over two years. The Press Release is accessible here.

The ERA Pledge has launched the First Appointment Guidelines to assist new and prospective arbitrators to secure and succeed in their first arbitrator appointment.For more details, see the News Release and the ERA Pledge First Appointment Guidelines.

As we enter the 9th year of the Pledge, we are excited to bring you this first edition of our Newsletter.

The ERA Pledge UK Bar Subcommittee is pleased to launch the Bar Guidelines to assist members of the UK Bar and those working in bar practice management to implement the aims of the Pledge.

For more details, see the News Release and the ERA Pledge Bar Guidelines.

To mark the Pledge’s 8th anniversary, we report on the progress of the Pledge over the past year: Eight Years of the ERA Pledge, Ashley Jones

We are delighted to be collaborating with Jus Connect on an exciting new initiative to provide greater visibility to female arbitrators and foster diversity and inclusion within the arbitration community. 

Supporters of the Pledge can now register or claim a complimentary profile on Jus Connect’s searchable database of arbitration professionals. 

If you are a signatory or member of the Pledge (male or female)with at least 2 years’ full-time experience in arbitration, you can sign up andcreate a profile here https://jusmundi.typeform.com/to/h8udTuor,or claim an existing profile on Jus Connect.  

More details are available here.

Congratulations to the ICC Arbitration Guide on Disability Inclusion in International Arbitration and ADR for winning the 2024 ERA Pledge Award! 

This is a ground-breaking guide for advancing diversity inclusion in the field of international arbitration and alternative disputes resolution and a very worthy winner! The award was presented by Pledge Corporate Subcommittee members, Karl Hennessee and Yasmin Mohammad  at the Global Arbitration Review Awards Ceremony in Paris yesterday.  

We would also thank and congratulate all the other nominees for this year’s ERA Pledge Award for their hard work and commitment to promoting diversity and female representation in arbitration

On 1 February 2024, ICSID published its 2023 caseload statistics (see here). ICSID reported significantly improved gender diversity statistics:
- 32% of all appointments were women, up from 23% in 2022;  
- 51% of ICSID appointments were women, up from 37% in 2022; and
- 24% of party appointments were women, up from 16% in 2022.

Congratulations to all involved in this year's shortlisted initiatives for the GAR Pledge Award 2024 - each one deserves recognition for their outstanding efforts to promote and advance diversity in the field of arbitration.
- New group for Indian Women in International Arbitration launched by Niyati Ahuja.
- Network for US-based arbitration practitioners with links to the Arab world founded by Randa Adra, Cherine Foty, Lillian Khoury, May Khoury and Nour Nicolas.
- The launch of 1000 Paths to Arbitration, monthly videos on pursuing a career in arbitration led by Jessica Rado, LL.M. with support from Amanda Lee FCIArb.
- Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) launches diversity committee.
- Equal Representation for Expert Witnesses Survey highlights expert witness gender gap.
- Launch of the ERA Pledge in Saudi Arabia by the Arbitration Pledge MENA Subcommittee led by Antonia Birt and Prof. Dr. Nayla Comair-Obeid.
- ICC Arbitration launches guide to disability inclusion in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution.
- A “grassroots network” for LGBTQIA+ people and allies in the arbitration community launched by James McKenzie, Wilson Antoon and Tim Robbins.
- Report by Cortex Capital Limited urging a new approach to arbitrator selection to limit bias.
- Scottish Arbitration Centre launching all-female panels in both domestic and international cases.

You can see more details about the nominees for the various awards here.

Eight senior judges, including the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, have made a statement encouraging the greater participation of junior counsel in oral arguments in hearings: https://lnkd.in/ecRsxugY.

The statement notes that women are under-represented as leading advocates, and that “it is desirable therefore to give junior counsel in general, and female junior counsel in particular, better opportunities to advance oral argument in courts and tribunals.”

Going forward, England and Wales judges will be expected to ask whether a speaking part for junior counsel has been considered, particularly where junior counsel have been heavily involved in drafting the written arguments.

One of the ERA Pledge’s focus areas for 2024 is equal advocacy opportunities and we fully support this initiative of the UK Judiciary.

We are delighted to announce that our Middle East Sub-Committee launched the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this month! A testament to the strides made in the realm of diversity and inclusion within the Kingdom’s arbitration community, a two-panel event was held which provided an opportunity to discuss and celebrate the headway made in equal gender representation within the legal sector. The launch event in Riyadh was a significant milestone for female representation in the Saudi legal sector. The thought-provoking discussions and shared personal journeys laid the foundation for a future that values diversity, equality, and fair representation. The event concluded with a call to action for the legal community, both within Saudi Arabia and globally, to continue championing diversity and supporting equal representation. With change underway, it is imperative for everyone to contribute towards this transformative journey.

The event was generously sponsored by Reed Smith, Masin, FTI and HKA, and supported by SCCA, Al Tamimi and Co, Lexis Nexis and the Equal Representation For Expert Witnesses Pledge.

The ERA Pledge Bar Subcommittee has been created to advance equal opportunities for women in arbitration working at the Bar. If you would like to join this important Subcommittee and help drive forward the diversity goals of the ERA Pledge at the Bar, please email hjones@3vb.com to register your interest. The founding members of the Bar Subcommittee are: Jane Davies Evans, Anneliese Day KC, Marion Smith KC, Lyndsey de Mestre KC, Sarah Tulip, Catherine Reeves and Lucy Burrows.

More details can be found in the Call to Action.

The survey highlighted that, in 2022,  women were appointed as the sole expert witness in just 10% of disputes worldwide, and that 64% of lawyers had not seen any female expert witnesses in action. It also highlighted a fantastic pipeline of expert witnesses wanting to fulfill this incredibly important role in the future.  All categories of respondents saw the main challenge for female experts being lawyers selecting experts they have used before.

Discover more insights from the ERE Pledge survey 2023 report.

The ERA Pledge celebrated its 7^th anniversary on 16 May. The Pledge hosted stands at various events, talking to attendees about the work of the Pledge and securing new signatories, as well as handing out cupcakes to mark the occasion. See LinkedIn posts and photos from the events here and here.

Each year to mark the anniversary, we report on the progress of the Pledge over the previous year and look ahead to plans for the coming year. See Blog: Seven Years of the ERA Pledge by Ashley Jones.

The ERA Pledge Global Steering Committee is delighted to announce that Alison Pearsall, formerly Senior Legal Counsel at Veolia, will be the new co-chair of the Corporate Subcommittee. She takes over from Samantha Bakstad (BP) who has led the group since its inception in September 2019.

Founder and co-chair of the Global Steering Committee, Sylvia Noury KC, says “We are delighted that Alison has agreed to take on the role of co-chair of the Corporate Subcommittee. She is an active and committed member of the Global Steering Committee, Corporate Subcommittee and Paris Pledge group and passionate about driving forward progress in diversity. This together with her extensive in-house experience makes her a perfect fit for the role. We are truly grateful to Sam Bakstad for her hard work in setting up and chairing the Corporate Subcommittee for the last nearly 4 years.”

The Pledge Corporate Subcommittee also welcomes the following new members who have recently joined: Hannah Boehm (Roche), Camilla Godman (Omni Bridgeway), Tuuli Timonen (Nokia),and Katherine Young (Shell). We are excited to bring new members on board to provide new ideas and different perspectives to the work of the group, including new industry sectors (technology and life sciences) which are not currently represented in the Corporate Subcommittee.

The work of the Corporate Subcommittee is still a priority area for the ERA Pledge. While progress is being made in institutional and co-arbitrator appointments, the latest statistics revealed a disappointing drop in party appointments of female arbitrators from 19.4% in 2020 to 17.9% in 2021. There remains more work to be done with corporates and their external counsel to tackle the persistent challenges hindering progress towards better gender diversity in party appointments.

Mute Off Thursdays Compendium of Women Arbitrators has won the 2023 Global Arbitration Review ERA Pledge Award for launching a compendium of women arbitrators around the world. The compendium lists 176 accomplished female arbitrators and includes a diverse range of professional, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. It will serve as a valuable resource for parties, counsel and institutions taking active steps to increase the representation of women on arbitral tribunals. Further information here.

The award was presented at the GAR Awards Ceremony in Paris on 30 March 2023 by the ERA Pledge Global Steering Committee Secretary Ashley Jones and Co-Chair Justin D’Agostino, and accepted by Elena Gutierrez Garcia de Cortazar and Ema Vidak Friedman on behalf of MUTE OFF Thursdays.

The full list of nominees can be found here: GAR Awards 2023 – the remaining shortlists - Global Arbitration Review.

For the first time in its history, the SCC board appointed a majority of female arbitrators with women making up 54 percent of the arbitrators appointed by the SCC in 2022. This is clearly in line with the gender equality goal that the SCC is working towards and is consistent with the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge signed by the SCC.

To read the full article, please click here.

The Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (CEPANI) have introduced a new rule. This rule requires the CEPANI appointment committee and president to take into account "considerations of diversity and inclusion" when forming a tribunal in addition to the arbitrator's availability, qualifications and ability to act in the case.

In addition, a new Diversity and Inclusion Standing Committee has been created to promote and monitor diversity and inclusion at CEPANI. One of their goals is to include a diversity and inclusion requirement in the arbitration clause itself in future.

The Arbitration Pledge represented by Pledge Champions Jane Miles and Noha Elgendy was delighted to be partnering with the 11th ICC MENA Conference on International Arbitration, which took place at Abu Dhabi Global Market on 16 February 2023.

The conference, themed ‘Rethinking Dispute Resolution in an Ever-Changing World’ also highlighted the ICC’s centenary by opening with a discussion around the ICC’s Centenary Declaration on Dispute Prevention and Resolution. The conference covered a variety of topics, including a special panel with His Excellency Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Robin Mills, CEO of Qamar Energy; Kamal Shehadi, Chief Strategy Officer of e& International on ‘Finding Opportunity in Times of Uncertainty’ which was moderated by the ICC’s Claudia Salomon, President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris. 

Other panel discussions looked at Energy Transition and Renewables in MENA as well asSupply Chain Disruption in the context of disputes. The conference concluded with a ‘Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Scrutiny of Award’ which included anin-depth review of how the ICC Court scrutinises awards before they are issued to parties. 

Visit the event website to view the full programme and speaker list.

The Financial Times has published an article on the efforts of both the ERA Pledge, as well as the Equal Representation for Expert Witnesses (ERE) Pledge, in achieving a fair representation of women on arbitral tribunals and as expert witness appointees.

As stated in the article by the ERA Pledge founder Sylvia Noury KC, there is progress being made, with the recent ICCA Report revealing that the proportion of women appointed as arbitrators has nearly doubled in the last five years.

To read the article in full click here.

The Pledge Corporate Sub-committee has published an updated set of Corporate Guidelines to further assist corporates with implementing diversity objectives set out in the ERA Pledge.

The Corporate Guidelines are aimed at providing corporate signatories with a framework for concrete steps to assist those wishing to implement the Pledge within their organisation. They can be adopted as and when appropriate, and to the extent appropriate, for each signatory. They are ‘best practice’ principles and do not form any binding commitment for signatories. The Corporate Guidelines were drafted by the Pledge Corporate Sub-committee (see members listed here) and are expressly supported by Airbus, Anglo American, BP, Burford Capital, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Omni Bridgeway, Shell and Vannin Capital.

The updated 2022 ICCA Report of the Cross-Institutional Task Force on Gender Diversity in Arbitral Appointments and Proceedings has been published with further information on gender diversity statistics, featuring contributions from the ERA Pledge. It shares a vision of how gender diversity can progress in the field, publishing recent statistics on the appointment of female arbitrators, as well as outlining best practices and opportunities to promote gender diversity in international arbitration. The 2022 Update provides even more data, information, anecdotes, analysis and recommendations, but most importantly, it demonstrates measurable progress in the representation and inclusion of women in international arbitration – with, of course, much more to be done in the multi-faceted field of diversity.

The updated report is available to read here.

The ERA Pledge is delighted to announce the launch of the ERA Pledge in Cameroon, on 8 June, during an international arbitration training programme organised by SOAS and hosted by the Centre de Médiation et d’Arbitrage du GICAM (CMAG), a leading African arbitral institution in Douala. Marie-Andrée Ngwe, President of the CMAG, signed the Pledge on the Centre’s behalf in the presence of Global Steering Committee member Gisèle Stephens-Chu and African Sub-committee members Sylvie Bebohi Ebongo and Aurélia Kamga, as well as several local press reporters.

The ERA Pledge is delighted to announce the appointment of Macarena Letelier, Executive Director of the Santiago Arbitration and Mediation Centre, as the new co-chair of its Latin America Subcommittee. Macarena is taking over from Ana Carolina Weber, who held the position for the past three years and is now initiating a sole practice dedicated to arbitration. The full Press Release is accessible to read here in both English and Spanish.

ICC International Court of Arbitration has won the 2022 Global Arbitration Review ERA Pledge Award for building an LGBTQIA network and launching a task force on disability inclusion. The LGBTQIA network aims to support members' personal and professional development, sharing best practice and building understanding of those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or questioning, intersex or asexual. The task force on disability inclusion will study and analyse the ways in which ICC can meet the needs of those in the international arbitration community who may need accommodations or changes for the way they work.

For more information about the GAR Awards click here. For further information on ICC’s initiatives see the LGBTQIA network and the Disability Task Force.

The Paris-based members of the Pledge Steering Committee, YPSC and Teynier Pic hosted an event during Paris Arbitration Week (28 March - 1 April 2022), featuring Eric O’Donnell, Head of Legal Operations at Total Energies. Eric explained how diversity and inclusion is integral to the Total Energies’ corporate strategy and how it is implemented, as well as providing personal reflections on the benefits of diversity and the need to tackle unconscious bias. Following his keynote, participants were invited to network and discuss actions to implement their commitments to the ERA Pledge.

View the photographs from the event here

The ERA Pledge is delighted to announce the launch of the ERA Pledge in Israel last week during the Tel-Aviv Arbitration Week 2022 (TAAW). During the main TAAW conference, Pledge Steering Committee member Gisele Stephens-Chu presented the Pledge’s genesis, objectives, and achievements. The conference also included a thought-provoking panel discussion moderated by Tatiana Minaeva entitled “Diversity in International Arbitration” and a women practitioners event with the ICC Court of Arbitration President, Claudia Salomon, hosted by ICC YAF member Nuna Lerner which also featured the Pledge.

Find out more about the Tel-Aviv Arbitration Week here.

Independent arbitral institution Delos has launched a universal open access arbitrator database, with the aim of improving diversity in arbitration. The database is free to use and to appear in. Arbitrators can provide as much information about themselves as they wish. The database will assist Delos in making diverse appointments, but also allows parties and counsel, as well as other arbitral institutions, to compile arbitrator shortlists more easily. It is hoped that the database will reduce barriers for new counsel entrants to gain information about arbitrator candidates. In addition, the database will assist in identifying diverse conference speakers and publication contributors.

Delos’ open access arbitrator database can be found here

The Pledge is pleased to announce that the ERA Female Arbitrator Search Tool, launched in 2016, will now be hosted by ICCA. The Tool allows practitioners and parties to identify qualified female arbitrators to hear their cases. Search requests are sent on a confidential basis directly to the independent ERA Search Committee, which will respond with a list of suitable female candidates.

The ERA Search Committee is formed entirely of volunteers from dispute resolution organisations – it does not include individuals from law firms. ICCA does not make or endorse recommendations.

ICCA will shortly launch an update of the Report of Cross-Institutional Task Force on Gender Diversity in Arbitral Appointments and Proceedings. Keep an eye on ICCA's

The Push 4 Parity initiative, put together by the ERA Pledge Young Practitioners Sub-committee, is preparing for its third season – focusing on advocacy from a counsel’s perspective.

The Push 4 Parity series is a series of webinars taught by diverse voices in the field, including leading arbitrators, practitioners and representatives from major arbitral institutions. The Push 4 Parity series offers practical advice on topics of interest to emerging and aspiring arbitrators, such as the different paths to becoming an arbitrator, networking, personal branding and marketing techniques, getting on the rosters of arbitral institutions, securing the first arbitral appointments, dealing with disclosures of potential conflicts of interest, preparing for and conducting arbitration proceedings with confidence, participating in tribunal deliberations with more senior arbitrators and drafting effective awards.

You can read more about the background to the Push 4 Parity initiative and previous seasons here

The ERA Pledge is delighted to announce the appointment of Justin D’Agostino, global Chief Executive Officer at Herbert Smith Freehills, as the new co-chair of its Global Steering Committee. Justin is taking over from Samantha Bakstad who will step down from the role after nearly three years to focus on her role leading the Pledge’s Corporate Subcommittee.

The Press Release is accessible here. 

The Pledge has formed a new USA Subcommittee which launches this month to take forward the promotion of the ERA Pledge among the broad geographic reach of the United States, focusing on increasing awareness and driving change in the appointment of female arbitrators, female practitioners as lead counsel and the advancement of female in-house counsel. The Press Release is accessible here. 

As part of Phase 2, Burford is earmarking a further $100 million to The Equity Project and broadening its mission to address both female and racially diverse lawyers who have been historically underrepresented in the business of law, especially in leadership and partnership positions. In earmarking capital through The Equity Project, Burford provides these lawyers an edge as they pursue leadership positions in significant commercial litigations and arbitrations and eases pathways towards origination and client relationship credit.

More information about the next phase of The Equity Project is now live on Burford’s website here.

You can read their press release here.

Encouraging statistics in International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)'s report on the 2021 financial year. Find out more here.

The Pledge is supporting the Arbitrator Intelligence. Diversity Campaign 2021. The campaign is a 3-week push to try to collect information on diverse arbitrator candidates to feed into AI’s Arbitrator Reports which provide valuable insights into arbitrator candidates to provide reassurance to those recommending or appointing arbitrators who they have no person experience of. The goal is to collect 100 AI Questionnaires over the 3 week campaign. For more information on the AI Diversity Campaign, see here.To provide arbitrator feedback, complete an AI Questionnaire (AIQ) here.

This year’s GAR Pledge Award was won by MUTE OFF Thursdays, an initiative set up at the beginning of lockdown in March 2020 to help mid to senior women in arbitration exchange knowledge and remain connected to the arbitration community by hosting weekly zoom calls on a different topic each week. The initiative was launched by Ema Vidak Gojković, Gaëlle Filhol, Catherine Anne Kunz and Claire Morel de Westgaver.

The ICC has issued a press release celebrating the five year anniversary of the Pledge, identifying ways it has turned its Pledge commitments into action. Find out more here.

The ERA Pledge celebrated its 5th Anniversary on 16 May 2021. To find out more about the Pledge’s journey so far, see the anniversary video and blog.

The ERA Pledge Young Practitioners Subcommittee (YPSC) is delighted to announce they have entered into a partnership with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) to provide ERA members with discounted training.

Speaking on behalf of the YPSC, Sofia Klot, Caroline Croft and Elizabeth Chan said, “We are delighted to partner with CIArb to help our members access the fantastic arbitrator-training courses offered by CIArb and to help them gain accreditation as CIArb fellows. In doing so, we hope to support those launching their careers as arbitrators and to promote greater gender and other forms of diversity in arbitrator appointments in international dispute resolution.”

Catherine Dixon, Director General of CIArb said: “CIArb is a global membership and professional body dedicated to effective dispute resolution. CIArb is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, supporting and enabling the best to join and progress in the ADR profession irrespective of their background. I'm proud that CIArb is working with the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge in providing this training”.

Under the partnership, CIArb will provide ERA members who fulfil the entry conditions with discounted training on CIArb’s Module 3 Evidence and Writing course on its International Arbitration Pathway, or discounted access to its Accelerated Route to Fellowship in International Arbitration, at CIArb headquarters. Successful completion of either programme enables individuals to apply for peer interview for CIArb Fellowship (FCIArb).

Find out more about the programme here. To learn more about CIArb, please visit www.ciarb.org.

The shortlist for the GAR Pledge Award 2021 has been announced. Congratulations and well done to all nominees for their outstanding contributions to advancing gender diversity in arbitration during 2020. Click here to vote.

Pledge signatory the International Commercial Arbitration Court (ICAC) (Ukraine) recently published its 2020 Annual Report. It reported that, in 2020, the number of female arbitrators involved in ICAC cases reached an amazing 42.4%. This is a 5.9% on its 2019 statistics. Additionally, the ICAC also reported that 57.4% of the party appointments were women.The ICAC Annual Report 2020 is available to view at this link.

The Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) has signed the ERA Pledge and signalled its commitment to gender diversity in international arbitration. The Middle East is a focus area for the Pledge having recently launched our Pledge Middle East Subcommittee and the support of the arbitral institutions is essential to driving progress forward in the region.

The World Bank has announced the appointment of Steering Committee member and African Subcommittee co-chair, Mrs. Adedoyin Rhodes-Vivour SAN, C.Arb, as a member of the World Bank Group Sanctions Board. With her appointment, she is presently the only Nigerian on the Board and has become one of the seven judges for a six year term.

Adedoyin has significant experience in dispute settlement and arbitration and she is regularly ranked by publications as a pre-eminent arbitrator. She has also been described as highly recommended by clients and peers for her skill and versatile thinking as well as providing clients with a wealth of expertise as both arbitrator and counsel across the financial services and energy sectors. Adedoyin is honoured to be appointed to the Sanctions Board and looks forward to working in the World Bank Family. The ERA Pledge and African Subcommittee congratulates her and wishes her all the best with her new appointment. It is truly very well deserved.

You can view our Linked In post here for more information on Mrs. Adedoyin Rhodes-Vivour SAN, C.Arb.

The European Commission signed the ERA Pledge in respect of its trade and investment dispute settlement activities on 18 December 2020. See the EC’s press release here and letter from the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission here

The ERA Pledge Middle East Subcommittee was launched in December 2020, as the fourth regional subcommittee of the Pledge following the Latin America, India and Africa subcommittees. The Middle East Subcommittee will promote the ERA Pledge across the international arbitration community in the Middle East. The steering committee is co-chaired by Prof Dr Nayla Comair-Obeid and Antonia Birt, and is composed of arbitration practitioners, in-house counsel, technical experts, arbitrators, and members of arbitral institutions, from several Middle Eastern jurisdictions and those further afield with a focus on Middle Eastern practice. The launch event for the Subcommittee is expected to take place in March 2021.

The Pledge Corporate Sub-committee has published a set of Corporate Guidelines for Implementation of the Pledge (available in English and Spanish).The Corporate Guidelines are aimed at providing corporate signatories with a framework for concrete steps to assist those wishing to implement the Pledge within their organisation. They can be adopted as and when appropriate, and to the extent appropriate, for each signatory. They are ‘best practice’ principles and do not form any binding commitment for signatories. The Corporate Guidelines were drafted by the Pledge Corporate Sub-committee (see members listed here) and are expressly supported by Airbus, Anglo American, BP, Burford Capital, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Omni Bridgeway, Shell and Vannin Capital.

A Checklist of Best Practices for the Selection of Arbitrators was launched by the Paris members of the Pledge Steering Committee in October 2020. The Checklist outlines the best practices, methods and tools available for selecting arbitrators, relying on objective criteria that promote both efficiency and diversity in arbitration. You can access a copy of the Checklist here in French and English, and more information is available here. (Please note, the survey at the end of this article is in French and meant for the time being for those based in France only.)

ERA Pledge launches Young Practitioners Subcommittee bringing its message of gender diversity to the new generations. The Press Release is accessible here.

The eighth volume of the ICCA Reports series, the ICCA Report of the Cross-Institutional Task Force on Gender Diversity in Arbitral Appointments and Proceedings, has been released. The Report shares a vision of how gender diversity can progress in the field and publishes recent statistics on the appointment of female arbitrators, as well as outlining best practices and opportunities to promote gender diversity in international arbitration. The report is accessible here.

The winner of the ERA Pledge GAR Award 2020, announced at the GAR Awards Ceremony on 9 July, is the LCIA for appointing 43% female arbitrators during 2018. The LCIA’s 2019 statistics are even better with the LCIA appointing female arbitrators in 48% of the appointments made by the institution. Congratulations to the LCIA! You can read the full list of very worthy nominees here.

On 23 June, a meeting of the Global Steering Committee took place using Microsoft Teams. About 40 members attended to discuss (i) the 2019 female arbitrator appointment statistics; (ii) ideas for future virtual events; and (iii) a round-up of the Pledge events and activities of the various regional members and sub-committees. It was fantastic to hear about all the great work being done across the different regions and plans for harnessing the new virtual world for future Pledge events.

Freshfields blog: ERA Pledge surpasses 4,000 signatories. click here.

Africa Sub-Committee update: the Africa Sub-Committee recently convened to discuss its formal launch event and agenda for the year ahead. The Sub-Committee is delighted to report that Africa now has the second highest number of signatories after Europe.

The Casablanca International Mediation & Arbitration Centre is pleased to announce it has officially joined the campaign for a more diverse and balanced international arbitration community (ERA Pledge). CIMAC’s Secretary General, Hicham Zegrary said “Diversity and Gender issues are part of CIMAC ‘DNA’. Both our Court of Arbitration and Secretariat are composed of peoples from all over the world. By signing the ERA Pledge, we commit ourselves to do more!!!”.

This year’s 27th Vis Moot was held as a Virtual Vis Moot for the first time. In the Opening Ceremony, Steering Committee member Patrizia Netal spoke about the ERA Pledge and equal representation (min 7:00 – 7:45). This year’s competition had a majority female panel in the final round including Jackie van Haersolte-van Hof and Prof Petra Butler.

The UK has launched its process for making new designations to the ICSID Panels of Arbitrators and of Conciliators. This opportunity will no doubt be of interest to the Equal Representation in Arbitration community and we are keen that it reach a diverse applicant base.
Applications are being accepted via a dedicated mailbox (icsidappointments@trade.gov.uk). Should any members have further queries, the application information has been publicised on the UK Government’s website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/appointments-to-icsid-panels-call-for-expressions-of-interest/appointments-to-icsid-panels-call-for-expressions-of-interest) (UK)

Pledge to name more women as arbitrators reaches U.S. firms

The ERA Pledge is delighted to announce the launch of the ERA Pledge in Cameroon, on 8 June, during an international arbitration training programme organised by SOAS and hosted by the Centre de Médiation et d’Arbitrage du GICAM (CMAG), a leading African arbitral institution in Douala. Marie-Andrée Ngwe, President of the CMAG, signed the Pledge on the Centre’s behalf in the presence of Global Steering Committee member Gisèle Stephens-Chu and African Sub-committee members Sylvie Bebohi Ebongo and Aurélia Kamga, as well as several local press reporters.

The Arbitration Pledge represented by Pledge Champions Jane Miles and Noha Elgendy was delighted to be partnering with the 11th ICC MENA Conference on International Arbitration, which took place at Abu Dhabi Global Market on 16 February 2023.

The conference, themed ‘Rethinking Dispute Resolution in an Ever-Changing World’ also highlighted the ICC’s centenary by opening with a discussion around the ICC’s Centenary Declaration on Dispute Prevention and Resolution. The conference covered a variety of topics, including a special panel with His Excellency Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Robin Mills, CEO of Qamar Energy; Kamal Shehadi, Chief Strategy Officer of e& International on ‘Finding Opportunity in Times of Uncertainty’ which was moderated by the ICC’s Claudia Salomon, President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris. 

Other panel discussions looked at Energy Transition and Renewables in MENA as well asSupply Chain Disruption in the context of disputes. The conference concluded with a ‘Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Scrutiny of Award’ which included anin-depth review of how the ICC Court scrutinises awards before they are issued to parties. 

Visit the event website to view the full programme and speaker list.