International Women’s Day 2025: Civitas Maxima’s tribute to women human rights defenders
According to the World Economic Forum, at the current rate of progress, gender equality won’t be achieved for well over a century. Recent data shows that without further action it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity. The world of law is not an exception in this regard. While women are now better represented in the legal field, it is not immune to gender inequalities.
Marked by millions of people on March 8, International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality.
On this occasion, and as an organization made up of 90% women, who also represent three-quarters of senior management, Civitas Maxima would like to pay tribute to women lawyers who dedicate their career to international justice and human rights. Among these women, are the many interns we have welcomed, for whom the experience at Civitas Maxima was an important step in their career and who following their internships have kept the memory of a stimulating experience and supportive workplace.
Women at the forefront of human rights defense
A desire to help people, ensure that the law is accessible to as many people as possible, and that its implementation has concrete impacts is what sparked the vocation of these young lawyers and motivated them to undertake studies and work in the field of international human rights law.
These women are not an exception. Both in terms of studies and later in terms of professional career, women make up the majority in this branch of law. Empathy, a more global vision and understanding of international situations, and a the capacity for a broader spectrum of analysis are among the hypotheses that can be put forward to explain this statistic.
According to Zoe Anastassiades, an Australian lawyer and LLM graduate at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law, another reason is linked to the transformative dimension of this area of law: “Women are more aware of systemic and structural barriers, because they experience those barriers themselves, and understand the implications. As such they are more likely to work, and very passionately, to deconstruct those barriers than those who have not had the same experience.”
After an internship of several months at Civitas, Zoe remained in the non-profit sector. She now works as a solicitor within the NGO Refugee Advice & Casework Service, in Sydney (Australia), specializing in refugee law and legal protection.
Using law to fight injustice and being proactive against the legal system when it implements unlawful policies are elements of her current work in which she sees similarities and continuity with her experience as an intern at Civitas, which attracted her with its original and pragmatic working model. This model is based on the systematic search for all possible legal avenues in order to obtain justice for victims of international crimes.
Workshop organized by Civitas Maxima staff members with students of the International School of Geneva in 2020.
Civitas Maxima’s inspiring values and mission
“Rather than being reflective of society, law is often trying to catch-up to societal needs. I liked the fact that Civitas has connections with local grassroots organizations, because this is how we see the law progress more in line with societal needs,” Zoe says. Interested in the concept of “movement lawyering”, which uses law to support social change and social justice, Zoe also remembers Civitas Maxima fondly as an organization close to the field and connected to civil society in the countries in which it supports the victims’ quest for justice.
Alongside this approach to law and this strong connection with organizations on the ground, the possibility of working on actual cases was also a significant attraction for these young lawyers to work for Civitas Maxima. Leah Olasehinde, also a LLM graduate of the Geneva Academy, started as an intern before becoming a legal fellow, then legal counsel.
“I chose Civitas Maxima for my internship because I was looking for a challenging mission, a hands-on experience with proper concrete tasks. Working at Civitas gave me the opportunity to learn and to grow, to do many different things and types of work, to travel a lot. It took time some time to absorb everything!”
The variety of tasks and responsibilities (analyzing testimonies, gathering info, monitoring) is also what motivated Beatrice Meretti to apply for an internship at Civitas Maxima. Beatrice holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law from Geneva Academy. Her internship allowed her to acquire skills that she was able to use later, notably at the International Criminal Court where she is currently doing an internship in the victims and witnesses section.
Beyond that, it was above all the mission and values of the organization that strongly attracted the young woman, in particular the emphasis placed on the universal dimension of justice and the “very inspiring” meaning of Civitas’ name, “citizens of the world”.
“From Day 1, I had an instant feeling of pride to be part of an organization so committed to give voice to young women. At Civitas, I’ve always felt acknowledged; it reflected my own values and set the bar very high for future experience.”
Beatrice Meretti, former intern at Civitas Maxima
Gender inequality persists in the legal profession
Promoting these values is all the more important for these young women as gender inequality persists in the legal profession, despite the fact that women are the majority. Women continue to face disparities in representation at management positions and pay scales, with many encountering obstacles related to gender bias and work-life balance.
According to the Law Society, since 1990 women have represented over 60% of new entrants into the profession in the UK, and there are now more women than men practicing as solicitors, but the profession continues to be led predominantly by men. A study from the International Bar Association conducted in 12 countries has found that although gender parity has improved at an overall level between 2021 and 2024, only 38 per cent of all senior lawyers across the jurisdictions covered are women. While 50.3% of associates at U.S. law firms were women in 2023, marking the first time women outnumbered men, they represented only 27.76% of partners.
As Leah points out, “the glass ceiling remains a significant challenge within the field. Despite the fact that women outnumber men in the sector, there is always a man at the top of the chain. And having more women doesn’t mean they are treated better than men in same positions. Women will always have to make a choice between their career and family life, and accept to be underpaid, especially in the field of human rights, while men wouldn’t.”
#AccelerateAction: a worldwide call to take swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality
Significant barriers to gender equality remain, yet with the right action and support, positive progress can be made for women everywhere. The IWD 2025 campaign theme is “Accelerate action”, which emphasizes the importance of stepping forward to achieve gender equality. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers that women face, both in personal and professional spheres.
This includes fighting against gender bias and stereotypes in the workplace and acknowledging the benefits of gender diversity at work. For India Tamari, student at Tufts University (Boston, United States), “it is time to break the codes, to show that even in the most male-dominated professional sectors, women have their place and can actually initiate change.”
“We must fight against the ‘labels’ attached to jobs and against gender stereotypes,” says Romane Caparros, currently in her first year of a master’s degree in international and European Law at Aix-Marseille University (France). There are more women in the defense of human rights because they are said to be more empathetic and inclined to help others, which can in return make men hesitate to embark on this path. Beyond parity, let’s work on the complementarity of skills, this will only make the defense of human rights more effective.”
