How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this? 

It is fundamental. I wouldn’t have any kind of relationship with a law firm I don’t feel comfortable with. As a principle, we don’t work with external counsel that don’t have a good quota of women partners or are openly public about diversity and inclusion policies. That is very important and even recently, I stopped working with a law firm as their female partner left for another firm and it’s not just about gender representation, but about what it means to have an open and active inclusion policy, as it changes the way organisations behave towards their external partners. 

What diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have you and your legal department been championing within your company’s endeavours? 

Bayer Chile is part of Pride Connection, which is a network that gathers and empowers LGBTIQ+ policies and perspectives. I’m very active in that organisation, having worked in mentoring programs with other companies such as Falabella, Microsoft Chile and others, about diversity and inclusion initiatives. Also, part of my role, other than legal is also compliance, where we have been introducing trainings on equity and respect, focusing specifically on the LGBTIQ+ community.