As part of the Women in Aviation & Aerospace Charter’s Meet the Signatories series, members of the Charter explain why they joined the Charter, and what steps they have since taken to ensure the inclusion of women in the sectors.
Next in the series, we talk to CMS:
Please name your organisation and explain what it does in the aviation or aerospace industry
International law firm CMS has a multidisciplinary aviation team, Legal Flightpath – CMS Aviation. The team comprises over 70 partners and senior lawyers, providing client solutions to every part of the aviation industry.
Why did you join the Women in Aviation & Aerospace Charter?
Keith Wilson, Head of Aircraft Finance at CMS, comments: “We are delighted to support the Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter. With over 32% women in our UK partnership and over 60% across our associate teams, we are committed to achieving a gender balance at all levels of our firm, and want to ensure this balance is reflected across all industries in which we work. This a great initiative, which will go far in driving real change across the sector.”
Gwen Edwards, CMS partner in the Aircraft Finance team, comments: “It is so important for the junior talent and future business leaders in aviation to see more gender balance (and more generally, increasing diversity) across all areas of the industry, especially at a senior level. I am delighted to be part of CMS – a firm which proactively supports this initiative and recognises the importance of being a role model for other organisations.”
What steps are your organisation now taking to help improve gender balance in the industry?
At CMS, our senior leaders make diversity and inclusion a priority and are accountable for delivering success in accordance with our values. We regularly compare our diversity data to wider society to put the demographics of our firm into context, inform our priorities and adjust our strategy in terms of talent attraction and career progression. We are proud to have over 32% women in our partnership and 45% women on our board.
At CMS, we work hard to make our firm a supportive and inclusive place for everyone to work. In the last two years, we have implemented a number of initiatives to foster a culture that encourages a healthy work life balance. Our Time Out and Wellbeing programmes are two such examples, which are already having far-reaching effects on our people and our business. We also have a range of diversity & inclusion networks to support our workforce in all aspects of their lives, including a dedicated CMS Women network and a BAME network.