Recognised for creating workplace environments inclusive of women
The legal profession has taken a total of nine spots in this year’s gender equality employer list.
The 2020 ‘Top 50 Employers for Women’ was unveiled today by charity Business in the Community (BITC) in partnership with The Times. The list is not ranked, and among the law firms, features top employers from the worlds of banking, consultancy, insurance, the military and the arts.
The City law firms recognised for creating workplace environments inclusive of women are, in alphabetical order, Allen & Overy, CMS, DWF, Eversheds Sutherland, Hogan Lovells, Irwin Mitchell, Linklaters, Pinsent Masons and Simmons & Simmons.
Our Firms Most List shows they all have partnerships made up of over 20% women.
This is the second year running seven of the firms have featured in the top 50 list, which is now in its tenth year. DWF and IM were out in place of Addleshaw Goddard and Norton Rose Fulbright in last year’s list, which also featured nine City firms.
“This year marks ten years of the awards, and the bar was especially high,” said Charlotte Woodworth, BITC gender equality campaign director, continuing:
“A decade of expertise and experience underpins Business In the Community’s assessment, which sees organisations reviewed across a wide range of areas including transparency around pay practices, family friendly policies and to what extent the gender equality agenda is embedded into wider strategy.”
Two magic circle firms make the cut, A&O and Links, with the former this year announcing 45% new female partner promotions, up from 24% in 2019. Thirteen of A&O’s 29 new partners are female. Meanwhile, Links announced 27% new female partner promotions earlier this year, down from 33% in 2019. Eight of the firm’s 30 new parters are female.
Big Four accountancy giants, Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, all feature on this year’s list, alongside other big names, including Barclays, British Army, Financial Conduct Authority, GlaxoSmithKline, ITV, Lloyds, Marks & Spencer, Ofcom, PepsiCo, Royal Mail, Shell, Sky and Vodafone.
