Diversity and inclusion is an integral part of our people strategy, which is endorsed and regularly reviewed by our Partnership Board and sponsored by Gillian Carty, our Partnership Chair.
Through our six network groups, we’re working to embed diversity and inclusion across the firm, and to ensure it is at the heart of our culture. We’re committed to providing a supportive, inclusive, and high-performance environment where we celebrate and respect diversity, and all colleagues’ contributions are valued.
In 2023, the firm was named Diversity and Inclusion Champion (250+ employees) at The Herald & GenAnalytics Diversity Awards. We were commended for…
“...great strides in promoting social mobility; achieving greater gender diversity; supporting LGBTQ colleagues, younger employees; and creating greater awareness on disability and racial inclusion.”
Learn about some of our current accreditations, achievements, and activities below.
Gender Group
Our gender pay gap is improving year-on-year and continues to be a key area of focus. You can view our latest report, covering 2023-2024, here.
We review and update our family-friendly and wellbeing policies regularly to ensure they continue to meet the changing needs of colleagues. In line with this, we’ve enhanced our shared parental leave and maternity leave policies, with the addition of a Menopause Policy. We’re also a signatory for the Time to Test campaign, aimed at encouraging women to take the time to attend cervical cancer screening appointments, and are proud to be a host of the Menopause Café, an event which allows anyone of any age to discuss and learn more about menopause.
We run an Emerging Leaders Programme and offer mentoring to help colleagues secure promoted roles within the business. Female employees account for more than 55% of the delegates on the Emerging Leaders Programme.
Race, Faith, and Belief Group
We want colleagues of all backgrounds to feel welcome. We are members of Race Equality Matters and committed to the "Big Promise" to all – a promise to have zero tolerance of racism, inclusive of a microaggression training rollout – as a part of Race Equality Week. We also provide accessible prayer room spaces, and ensure all colleagues are educated in possible blind spots in these areas, such as microaggression training. We held a keepy uppy challenge as a part of fundraising for Show Racism the Red Card, and colleagues couldn't wait to show off their skills.
We’re a signatory to the Race Fairness Commitment and a member of Legal CORE, a collaboration which aims to tackle the underrepresentation of Black, Asian, and minority ethnic groups in the legal sector.
We support the 10,000 Black interns programme and Black Professionals UK to facilitate the introduction of new interns to the firm and the opportunity for these students to gain valuable and practical work experience.
Pride Group
As firm supporters of our LGBT+ colleagues, we’re part of The Glass Network, a group for LGBT+ and allied legal professionals in Scotland, and support LGBT Youth Scotland.
We celebrate notable LGBT+ dates throughout the year in external and internal publications, and participate in Pride marches.
Social Mobility Group
We ranked 31st in the Social Mobility Employer Index 2023, remain a signatory to the Social Mobility Pledge, and support the LawScot Foundation.
We offer diploma funding and maintenance allowances for incoming trainees. We’re a founding member of PRIME, an alliance of law firms looking to improve socioeconomic diversity in the legal profession, supporting placements for pupils who are less likely to secure legal work experience, with the aim of improving access to the legal sector.
In aid of this goal, we also use Rare's contextualised recruitment system, ensuring we recognise the context of applicants' achievements.
Wellbeing Group
While physical health is important, mental health is just as critical. We’ve trained mental health first aiders, who provide local support across each of our offices. We also provide an Employee Assistance Programme for all our colleagues, offering 24/7 access to trained mental health counsellors.
We’ve been recognised as a Disability Confident Employer since 2015, supporting disabled colleagues and applicants, and guaranteeing interviews for anyone who meets our minimum selection criteria.
Additionally, we’re a member of Neurodiversity in Business and have internal champions who guide us on how to make our workplace more neuroinclusive.
Young Persons Group
We have developed a Young Person’s Strategy to ensure young people are fully engaged in our business and are given the opportunity to develop and fulfil their potential.
In 2023, we held a 5km fun run in aid of Bernardo's children's charity, raising funds for children, young people, parents and carers.
We also organise an annual Future Careers event for school and university students and are proud to hold a number of Investors in People accreditations: accredited by Investors in People since 2005; Investors in Young People Platinum accreditation; and Investors in People Platinum accreditation.
