#BuildHer: Meet Miles Standish, Corporate Counsel APAC, Slalom

At Slalom, we champion diversity across our business because we know the best results come from embracing the full spectrum of humanity. As part of our #BuildHer campaign, we’re spotlighting our extraordinary women and men who are committed to moving the needle on diversity, inclusion, and equality in the workplace.

Today, we introduce Miles Standish, Slalom’s Corporate Counsel, APAC. Miles leads Slalom’s in-house legal function in Australia and the broader APAC region, and has incredible expertise as a senior legal executive and leader across technology, IP, corporate, commercial, regulatory and financial services.

We spoke to Miles about the women who shaped his mindset and the real-world impact of diversity.

Raised by a pioneering woman

Growing up in the UK and then Melbourne, Miles and his sister had a lot of exposure to feminist ideology — perhaps more than many other children in the 1960s and 70s. He recalls the bookshelves at home featuring the important first-wave feminism texts of the time. This is because his mother was a proud feminist (or “Women’s Libber” to use the phrase of the time). She forged her own path in life, studying a STEM degree at university in the 1950s, then travelling across the world to India by herself — all of which were very unexpected for a young woman at the time.

Hearing his mother fearlessly advocating for women’s rights had a powerful influence on how Miles thinks about gender issues and diversity in the workplace.

The professor who shaped his worldview

Professionally, a significant influence and role model for Miles was Professor Jenny Morgan, a Melbourne University Law School professor who teaches criminal law, anti-discrimination law and feminist legal theory. As her student, and subsequently her research assistant, Miles absorbed and learned from her critique of the criminal justice system through a feminist lens. This not only shaped how he thought about criminal law, it also opened his eyes to how the legal system and other social systems have grown and developed from a patriarchal point of view.

For example, in the Anglo-Australian legal system, it was not until 1870 that married women could own their own property. Before the passing of the Married Women’s Property Act, all property of a woman became the property of her husband. In many respects, a woman was herself considered to be the property of her husband. Reflecting this, for many years the criminal law allowed a partial defence to homicide to men whose wives had left them — or taunted them. (Professor Morgan’s research contributed to the abolition of this defence of “provocation” in Victoria in 2005.)

It was through his student-teacher and working relationship with Professor Morgan that Miles learned how the legal system reflected gendered social views — which in turn led to his broader critical thinking about the law and legal systems.

The case for embracing differences in the workplace

Organisations with a diverse workforce have greater opportunities to make better decisions because they’re informed by many more points of view, according to Miles. Ultimately, lack of diversity can lead to lack of quality in products and services. As Miles points out, not inviting different groups of people to contribute to the decision-making process on products often result in solutions that don’t resonate with many audiences, that don’t advance the interests of those people, and in the worst case scenario, are even harmful.

For example, artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms written by people with one lens of experience can hurt those with different lived experiences, by reinforcing problematic, stereotypical constructs. This has been illustrated by facial recognition technology, which has been shown to frequently misidentify people from different ethnic backgrounds. If people are stopped and questioned by police on misguided grounds — because facial recognition technology incorrectly flagged them as a potential suspect for an offence — that’s incredibly problematic and can have a devastating impact, Miles notes.

What diversity looks like at Slalom

While ‘bro culture’ still seems to be present in the technology industry, Miles affirms Slalom’s vibe is very different. There is a collective will to create an inclusive workplace where everyone is encouraged to contribute in ways that they feel comfortable.

Slalom values the fact that every person brings an entire lifetime’s worth of experiences into their role, and these various diverse perspectives can bring a lot of value to brainstorming, problem solving, and innovating.

As Miles notes, Slalom’s commitment to diversity is reflected in the workforce — the company has a mix of people from all walks of life.

Find your personal champion

For women looking to make their mark in industries that are traditionally male-dominant, Miles recommends finding a mentor. Rather than navigating challenges alone, it’s worthwhile having someone who can impart their experience and wisdom; someone who can give you guidance on how to advance your career; someone who can champion you.

Learn more about our other extraordinary team members who champion diversity.