Maura Derivan during her presidency of the Law Society of Ireland

Ms Derivan received the award at the recent Summit of Women Leaders in Law, Business and the Public Sector, held at the City Hall in Paris and hosted by the Fédération des Barreaux d’Europe (FBE), an organisation which represents over one million lawyers in Europe across 25 countries.

The event was hosted by the Law Society of France and chaired by Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo.

Presenting the award, Julie Courturier, president of the Law Society of France, praised Ms Derivan’s work and contribution over the past number of years to promote equality and diversity within the Law Society of Ireland and the Irish solicitors’ profession.

Her work resulted in the Law Society Council’s adoption of a gender equality, diversity and inclusion (GEDI) policy and the creation by the Law Society of a GEDI charter for implementation by the Irish legal profession.

Madame Courturier recognised the sterling work Ms Derivan has done over the past decade, including a campaign of engagement with a professional networking and lobby group dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ individuals and allies within the Irish legal sector, as well as a campaign to promote and increase disability access to the Law Society, which was implemented with great success.

In her acceptance speech, Ms Derivan stated that all the women who went before her, who have been brave and fearless in striving for GEDI and on whose shoulders she has stood, should be recognised and that the award also belonged to them.

She called on women today to continue to reach for full recognition and implementation of GEDI and said that women of the future also needed their shoulders, upon which these women could stand to reach for 100 per cent inclusion.

In a statement, Ms Derivan said: “I am very honoured to be the first person awarded this prestigious trophy. I am so proud of what we have been able to achieve in Ireland and I acknowledge all the assistance I received from my fellow peers in ensuring that our profession continues to be inclusive and forward-thinking.”