SOCIAL
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION (DEI)
SOCIAL
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION (DEI)
SOCIAL
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION (DEI)
The core and unwavering purpose of our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is to provide fair access, opportunities and treatment to all individuals. This purpose guides our long-term direction and actions, even more so in times of political and social uncertainty. It ensures we look for talent in unfamiliar places, we systematically remove bias from our processes, we recognise colleagues’ different starting points, and much more. And we ensure that DEI serves the whole workplace. This purpose and the actions which flow from it align with and support our commitment to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10 - Reduced Inequalities.
Key statistics
Highlights from financial year (FY) 2025/26
DEI networks
Looking forward FY 2026/27
Memberships and accreditations
Awards
UN Sustainable Development Goal
Key statistics
DEI networks operate across the firm
of our people completed our new DEI Essentials training
people were interviewed as part of our Gender Pay Gaps Project
Highlights from financial year (FY) 2025/26
Our DEI Strategy focuses on four priority areas: inclusive recruitment, respectful and inclusive environments, inclusive recognition and reward, and external promotion of DEI. Our actions and achievements over FY 2025/26 include:
Creating an inclusive and respectful environment
- Launching a new programme of DEI training, including mandatory DEI essentials training for everyone in the business (completed by 916 colleagues, representing 77% of the workforce), as well as refreshing our unconscious bias training and rolling out new microaggressions training.
- Designing and delivering neurodiversity and reasonable adjustments training for managers at team level.
- Launching our new ‘Courageous Conversations’ series, a firmwide initiative designed to create safe spaces for colleagues to explore some of the more complex and sensitive topics shaping society today in open, meaningful and constructive dialogue that goes beyond the comfortable and into the conversations that truly matter. Find out more here.
Developing our inclusive recruitment practices
- Introducing ‘Neurosight’, a brand-new assessment tool in this year’s early talent recruitment process. Neurosight has been designed with accessibility and neurodiversity in mind and allows us to measure talent and potential without bias.
- Closer collaboration with our external recruitment agencies so they better understand our DEI policies and initiatives and become an extension of our firm when speaking to candidates. We also encourage our preferred agencies to present more diverse talent.
- Working with four new job boards: LGBT Jobs UK, Disability Jobs UK, Neurodiversity Jobs UK, and BME (Black & Minority Ethnic) Jobs UK, to reach more candidates from these underrepresented groups.
Ensuring more inclusive recognition and reward
- Investing in our DEI data capture, analysis, monitoring and reporting to deliver improved efficiencies, visibility of areas where we have underrepresentation, accountability where we have implemented targeted interventions, and insights that provide early identification of any unintended consequences in our processes.
- Promoting our ‘Count Me In’ campaign to encourage people to share their diversity data, resulting in a 3.4%-point increase in data sharing rates.
- In collaboration with our Thrive network, undertaking listening sessions with colleagues across the business to explore the factors contributing to our Gender Pay Gap, such as: potential barriers to career development; our promotions processes; and pay and reward. Findings have been used to work with key stakeholders (including senior leaders in People Support, People Development, Finance and Recruitment), to develop our Gender Pay Gaps action plan. Find out more here.
Promoting DEI externally
- Hosting a joint panel event with a key client on 'All Things Neurodiversity – personal journeys and workplace realities'. The panel session challenged assumptions, helped attendees understand the evolving importance of neuroinclusion in the workplace, and shared tips on how to create neuroinclusive environments.
- Chairing a round table for a key client, bringing together other panel law firms to discuss how to embed DEI into legal leadership and governance.
- Being part of the UN Global Compact Network UK DEI Working Group, including a recent peer-to-peer knowledge exchange session around supporting working parents and carers at work.
DEI networks
Our networks, which welcome and celebrate the importance of allies, are:
Our networks are passionate about promoting DEI. They provide valuable insights to help shape and support the work of our DEI team and the delivery of our action plan, as well as peer support, active allyship and knowledge sharing and collaboration across the business.
Event highlights from FY 2025/26 include:
- Marking Eid, Muslim Heritage Month and Bangladesh Independence Day by hosting a small intimate lunch with clients and special guests to discuss the broader issue of how we encourage improved cultural literacy and challenge the conflation of heritage and religion whilst acknowledging intersectionality of experiences, with particular consideration given to the impact on women [WBD Reach]
- Continuing our successful ‘Women In’ series with a panel event focusing on the challenges faced by women in the chemical and wider manufacturing sectors. With over 50 clients and contacts attending, the event emphasised the importance of championing allyship for women in these fields. Panellists explored everyday behaviours and barriers that hinder progress, sharing personal experiences and expert insights. The discussion encouraged participants to reflect on the urgency of active allyship and reinforced that supporting women strengthens not only individuals but the whole industry [WBD Thrive].
- Welcoming former CEO of Stonewall, Baroness Ruth Hunt, during Pride Month to talk to colleagues and clients about her powerful story, insights on advocacy and her vision for the future of LGBTQ+ inclusion [WBD Pride].
- Dos and Donuts across our offices. This involved encouraging DOs (making pledges to support colleagues with disabilities, neurodivergence, and long-term conditions by placing donut stickers on our pledge charts) while discussing further over DONUTs. Pledges included sending meeting agendas to be more inclusive, understanding our reasonable adjustments policy and workplace adjustment passports, wearing the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, and using our sensory kits and quiet rooms for events and meetings [WBD Disability and Neurodiversity].
- Hosting a documentary screening of ‘Speak Little One: The World is Listening’ followed by a Q&A with Louise Ndibwirende, filmmaker and TEDx speaker focused on the complexities of adoption through the lens of adoptees [a collaboration between WBD Family and Carers and WBD Reach].
Please take a look at our Workforce Composition here.
Looking forward - FY 2026/27
In addition to both expanding our gender pay gap learnings and continually refreshing our Gender Pay Gaps action plan, an exciting project launched at the start of FY 2026/27 is the roll-out of the pilot for a firmwide mentoring scheme, building on the success of previous mentoring and reverse mentoring projects. Our ambition is to embed a sustainable mentoring programme which is open to all colleagues across the business. Our Managing Partner is taking part in the pilot.
Memberships and accreditations
We actively participate in external forums and benchmarking and assessment frameworks, including:
Partnership with Diversity Lab as a Mansfield Rule UK participant
Hidden Disabilities Sunflower member
Business Disability Forum member
Halo Hair Code signatory
Disability Confident Leader – the highest tier of the UK government’s voluntary scheme which recognises employers who champion disability inclusion
Re-accredited by Mansfield UK – for our work in inclusive recruitment and expanding and considering a broader pool of qualified talent for all leadership roles and activities. We continue to use the Mansfield UK framework to benchmark and monitor our progress
Leading Employer status under Stonewall's new Proud Employers Scheme – for our efforts around LGBTQ+ inclusion
Awards
Our work has been recognised in the following awards:
Women & Diversity in Law Awards 2026
Finalist in the Law Firm of the Year category
Northern Power Women Awards 2026
Finalist in the Large Organisation category
Legal 500 UK ESG Awards 2026
Finalists in various categories
Finalist in the Law Firm Leader of the Year Category - Sally Dallow
Finalist in the Agent of Change category - Nazmin Akthar
DE&I: Rising Star of the Year Winner - Nazmin Akthar
LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026
Finalist in the Diversity and Inclusion Award category
Our priority UN Sustainable Development Goal
Goal alignment
10.2 Promote universal social, economic and political inclusion
by 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
10.3 Ensure equal opportunities and end discrimination
Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies and action in this regard
