The SCC Arbitration Institute is proud to announce that Secretary General Caroline Falconer has been appointed as one of four new members of the Global Steering Committee (GSC) of the Equal Representation in Arbitration (ERA) Pledge.

The ERA Pledge was launched in 2016 as a global call to action to address the under-representation of women in arbitration. Ten years later, it counts over 6,000 signatories from more than 1,100 organisations across 147 countries. The appointment was announced at the Pledge’s 10th anniversary celebration, held in London during London International Disputes Week, where a new leadership team took the helm alongside a refreshed Global Steering Committee, Advisory Board and network of subcommittees. Falconer joins the GSC alongside new representatives of the LCIA, the ICC and the PCA.

We sat down with Caroline to hear more about her new role and what it means for the SCC.

Congratulations on your appointment to the ERA Pledge’s Global Steering Committee. What was your first reaction when you heard the news?

Thank you! I am so proud. The ERA Pledge has done a lot to shift the conversation around gender diversity in our field, so being asked to help carry that work forward into its second decade means a great deal. It is also a clear recognition of the SCC’s own commitment to equal representation, both in how we run our institution and in how we support the wider arbitration community. In addition, I was one of the founders of SWAN, Swedish Women in Arbitration Network more than 15 years ago, it it great to be able to continue that work on this global scale.

For those less familiar with it, please describe the ERA Pledge and what it stands for.

The ERA Pledge is a global commitment, signed by individuals and organisations across the arbitration community, to improve the representation of women in arbitration and to support the appointment of women as arbitrators on an equal opportunity basis. The ultimate goal is full parity. What I like is that the Pledge asks everyone involved in the appointment process, whether counsel, parties or institutions, to actively consider qualified women when putting forward candidates.

Ten years on, this has grown into one of the most influential diversity initiatives in our profession.

What will your role on the Global Steering Committee involve?

The Global Steering Committee sets the strategic direction for the Pledge and supports the network of subcommittees that carry out much of its work on the ground, region by region and sector by sector. I join alongside new representatives from the LCIA, the ICC and the PCA, which reflects a strength of the Pledge: it unites arbitral institutions around a shared purpose. I am looking forward to contributing an institutional perspective from Sweden, particularly on how appointing authorities and administering institutions can use their position to make a genuine difference.

Why does this matter to the SCC specifically?

Arbitration works best when it reflects the businesses and disputes it serves, which means drawing on the full range of talent available, not a narrow slice of it. We consistently publish statistics on gender balance in our appointments, because transparency is what drives real accountability. A seat on the Pledge’s Global Steering Committee gives us a direct channel to contribute to, and learn from, the collective effort to move that needle globally. It is also simply the right thing to do.

What would you like to see the Pledge achieve over the next ten years?

Full parity, ideally sooner rather than later. More concretely, I would like the progress made at the institutional level to extend more consistently to party-appointed arbitrators. I am also glad to see the Pledge’s principles extending into related areas, such as the representation of women as expert witnesses, and I hope the next decade brings the same energy to other dimensions of diversity within our profession.

Finally, what is your message to the arbitration community as the Pledge enters its second decade?

Keep going, and keep it practical. Every time you put together a shortlist of arbitrators, ask yourself whether it genuinely reflects the pool of the available qualified candidates. Change of this kind happens one decision at a time, and the SCC will keep playing its part in that effort.

About the ERA Pledge

The Equal Representation in Arbitration (ERA) Pledge was launched in 2016 as a global call to action to address the under-representation of women in arbitration. Signatories commit to improving the profile and representation of women in the field and to supporting the appointment of women as arbitrators on an equal opportunity basis, with the ultimate goal of full parity. Further information is available at www.arbitrationpledge.com.