Jakarta-based Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners partner, Indri Pramitaswari Guritno, discusses how her firm's flexible working policy attempts to support lawyers with families and the importance of training and mentoring in helping women achieve senior positions within the profession
What obstacles have you had to contend with during your legal career that related to your gender?
One obstacle would be the perception that as a woman lawyer I may not be forceful enough to lead a transaction and that I need to rely on my appearance (physical or otherwise) in order to get or maintain the job. This has made me work twice as hard to prove them wrong.
From the perspective of gender equality how does the environment which you work in now compare to the one you began your career in?
I come from a very supportive family. My parents, sister and husband all have professional backgrounds - a medical doctor, engineers, a lawyer. They were very supportive of my career from the beginning of my law studies and this continued throughout my early practice until now as a partner in HHP Law Firm. Also, ever since I joined HHP Law Firm, where I was home-grown, there has been equal treatment between genders, in career promotion opportunities, variety of work and remuneration. Fortunately enough, gender has never been a determining factor in career progression in the firm I work with and we maintain this principle up until now.
In general do you feel the legal profession within the country where you are based treats women and men equally? If there are inconsistencies, where are these most noticeable?
Women and men are treated equally in the legal profession. There is no gender differentiation under Indonesia's Advocate Law, in advocate society, and in the advocate code of ethics.
Are there any initiatives to promote gender equality in the legal profession in your jurisdiction?
As women and men are treated equally in the legal profession, if there are gender-related initiatives, they usually only involve associations of women advocates or law students. These mostly provide moral support from a life balance perspective.
If you could introduce one policy related to gender equality in the legal profession what would it be?
As mentioned above, I do not feel there is a gender equality issue in the legal profession in Indonesia. However, I think there should be mandatory training (with minimum hours annually) for all lawyers (regardless of gender) on how to handle and manage multiple roles and the stresses that come with them.
Do you feel women are well represented at partner level and in management positions in firms within the country where you are based?
Based on my knowledge, women are well represented at all levels except at the partner level.
To ensure women lawyers stay to reach equity partner level, the mentoring system can be improved. First it should start early in the career of women associates who show ambition to have a long-term career with the firm. It should aim to do more than just improve skills. It should prepare women to face other challenges in the life of women in legal careers. It should have a constant monitoring system to ensure the women are equipped to handle life challenges as their career progresses. It should make the women feel that they have taken the right life and career decisions, which are reflected in their display of partner quality in terms of legal skills and personality. It should continue to the final stage where these women manage to create support from both their professional networks and their families to succeed as equity partners of a large international law firm.
What initiatives do you have in place at your firm to promote gender equality?
Our firm has a Diversity & Inclusion Committee to promote wellness, gender equality and diversity in the workplace and beyond. HHP Law Firm's D&I Committee, like others in the Baker McKenzie network, has had many initiatives including holding seminars on wellness, gender equality and diversity, and other events to promote women's empowerment.
One notable initiative to retain women staff as they face family challenges is our bAgile policy (alternative working arrangement policy launched in 2017). Many programs offered in this policy allows options for staff to work while addressing their life balance needs. Examples are remote working, shorter week or shorter hours, extended leave by way of leave of absence or unpaid leave. For new mothers, and also new fathers in some cases, this helps them decide to continue working in our Firm as opposed to resigning.
What advice would you give to women in junior positions to encourage them to work towards attaining senior positions?
Work hard, keep studying and keep curious (never be complacent), love what you do, attain leadership skills, use your EQ, be positive and keep your sense of humour as a balance.
What do you feel are the biggest obstacles for women in your country joining the legal profession now?
The biggest obstacles would be the perception that the legal profession deals with overwhelmingly tough clients and very long working hours that only suit women who do not have family commitments.
