The ERA Pledge celebrates 10 year anniversary and appoints new leadership team

The Equal Representation in Arbitration (ERA) Pledge is celebrating a decade of championing gender diversity in international arbitration following its 10th anniversary.

The Pledge was launched in May 2016 to address the woeful absence of women sitting as arbitrator on international tribunals (which statistics available at that time estimated at 10%). The original text was compiled in a collaborative process involving over 300 stakeholders from across the global arbitration community, led by founder and Co-Chair of the Global Steering Committee Sylvia Noury KC.

At the Pledge’s original launch event in 2016, Sylvia gave a speech explaining the need for the Pledge and why it was the right time for the arbitration community to take concrete action to address the dearth of women arbitrators.

Today, the Pledge has over 6000 signatories (including over 1000 organisations) from 143 countries. The work of the Pledge is led by the Global Steering Committee and carried out by a network of regional and other specialist subcommittees (including the arbitrator search, bar, corporate and young practitioners subcommittees).

Sylvia Noury KC has led the Pledge’s efforts for the past decade alongside fellow Co-Chairs of the Global Steering Committee Wendy Miles KC, Samantha Bakstad (bp) and most recently Justin D’Agostino (HSFK), with support from Ashley Jones (formerly at Freshfields).

At the ten-year anniversary event on 4 June 2026, a global leadership refresh was announced. The current leadership team will step down and new Co-Chairs and Secretaries have been appointed to take the Pledge forward. Freshfields’ Alexandra van der Meulen and Reed Smith’s Antonia Birt have been appointed as the new Co-Chairs of the Global Steering Committee, supported by Briana Young of Three Crowns and Yosr Bouassida of Freshfields who have been appointed as Co-Secretaries. 

Reflecting on the transition, founder and outgoing Co-Chair Sylvia Noury KC  said: “Founding and leading the ERA Pledge for over a decade has been one of my greatest professional and personal achievements. I am immensely proud of all that we have achieved during that time and I thank all of those who have helped make the Pledge such a success. I am delighted to be handing the reins over to such exceptional individuals to lead the Pledge with fresh eyes and renewed vigour.”

Sylvia Noury KC, Justin D’Agostino and Ashley Jones will continue to serve on the Pledge’s new Advisory Board alongside other leading members of the Pledge, Samantha Bakstad, Juliet Blanch, Lucy Greenwood, Jacomijn van Haersolte-van Hof, Amani Khalifa, Noiana Marigo, Wendy Miles KC and Doyin Rhodes-Vivour, who have been instrumental in the success of the Pledge over the years.

Commenting on her appointment, Alexandra van der Meulen said: “The Pledge has been a driving force for greater diversity in international arbitration, shaped by a remarkable leadership, in particular Sylvia Noury. I am looking forward to working with Antonia and colleagues across the global community to continue building on that progress - fostering inclusive appointment practices and ensuring our profession fully reflects the breadth of talent and perspectives it represents.”

Antonia Birt, who has played a leading role in the Pledge’s efforts in the Middle East over the past five years, remarked: "The conversation around diversity in arbitration has changed dramatically over the last decade, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Sylvia Noury and so many others who refused to accept that things could not change. There is still important work ahead, particularly in ensuring that excellent diverse practitioners have access to leadership opportunities, and the highest-value appointments. I am honoured to be taking on the role of global Co-Chair alongside Alexandra van der Meulen as we work with the wider arbitration community to confront the next frontiers of diversity in arbitration."

Looking to the future goals, the outgoing Co-Chair, Justin D’Agostino, said: “The next decade is about turning good intentions into everyday habits: widening the field, opening doors and sponsoring the talent that is already there. That is how we strengthen arbitration for everyone in the profession.”

In addition to the global leadership changes, further changes will take place to the leadership of some of the Pledge’s subcommittees following the ten-year anniversary, including:

• Africa subcommittee: Doyin Rhodes-Vivour and Amani Khalifa will step down as Co-Chairs. Stephanie Mbonu has been appointed as one of the new Co-Chairs after previously having served as Secretary to the subcommittee.
• Middle East subcommittee: Nayla Comair-Obeid and Antonia Birt will step down as Co-Chairs after leading the subcommittee since its creation. Lara Hammoud has been appointed as one of the new Co-Chairs to lead the Pledges efforts in the Middle East.
• Latin American subcommittee: Noiana Marigo (chair of the LatAm Subcommittee) will step down as Co-Chair of the LatAm subcommittee and will be replaced by Natalia Zibibbo.
• Young Practitioners Subcommittee: Lindsay Gastrell and Caroline Croft will also be stepping down as Co-Chairs of the Young Practitioners Subcommittee. New Co-Chairs will be appointed in the coming months as part of a broader refresh of this subcommittee focused on taking the Pledge to the next generation of arbitrators.

A full list of the Pledge’s Global Steering Committee and subcommittees members can be viewed here: https://www.arbitrationpledge.com/steering-committees

The Pledge Global Steering Committee and Corporate subcommittee are also delighted to welcome the following new members who will work with the existing members on driving forward the Pledge’s diversity goals over the coming years:

• Kevin Nash, Director General of the LCIA
• Caroline Falconer, Secretary General of the SCC
• Colleen Parker Bacquet, Counsel at the ICC
• Alexandra McGurk, Regional Head of Litigation (EMEA) at Rio Tinto (Corporate Subcommittee)
• Patricia Garcia, Legal Manager at VINCI (Corporate Subcommittee)

 

Progress over the past ten years: the statistics

Statistics are key to measuring impact and progress as well as identifying areas where more work is needed. At the time the Pledge was launched, data on the gender breakdown of arbitrator appointments was not readily available. One of the key early achievements of the Pledge was the response of the arbitral institutions to the Pledge’s call for publication of such data. Today nearly all of the major international and regional institutions publish some form of gender diversity data annually.

Despite the lack of data, independent research conducted by Lucy Greenwood estimated that in 2014 only around 10-12% of arbitrators were women. Anecdotally, it was rare to see women tribunal members at hearings and commonplace to have all male panels at international arbitration conferences.

In addition to the individual institutions publishing data, comprehensive statistical analysis is now available thanks to the work of ICCA’s Cross Institutional Task Force on Gender Diversity in Arbitral Appointments and Proceedings. First published in 2020 (and updated in 2022 and 2026), the Task Force’s Report collates and analyses gender diversity data provided by arbitral institutions globally from 2014 to 2024 identifying key trends.

Since the launch of the Pledge, there has been a significant trend of increasing numbers of women appointed each year, reaching a peak of 27.6% women appointed globally in 2023. In the latest statistics available for 2024, however, the global average decreased for the first time to 25.3%.