Contributors
Today, Stonewall, Europe’s largest charity for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer rights, launched its widely anticipated Top 100 Employers List which recognises exceptional employers who are committed to supporting their LGBTQ+ employees and clients.
International law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) ranked 56th in the Top 100 Employers list, up from 215th last year, and also received the Gold Award in recognition of its initiatives to foster an inclusive and safe workplace for all its people and where everyone feel empowered to be their real selves.
Over the past year, WBD and its dedicated LGBTQ+ network, WBD Pride, undertook significant strides towards creating an inclusive working environment. Recent initiatives include:
- the introduction of a reverse mentoring programme for senior leadership by members of our diversity and inclusion networks
- an ongoing mental health awareness campaign and rolling out firmwide training. WBD has the same number of dedicated Mental Health First Aiders across the firm as traditional First Aiders
- the introduction of gender pronouns and pronunciation guides in email signatures
- rolling out #CountMeIn, a firmwide, voluntary, data collection initiative designed to monitor how the firm is doing against its diversity and inclusion goals and in order to more rapidly make progress towards them
- receiving the Gold Status Award from the Law Society Diversity & Inclusion Charter
- achieving Gold Investors in People and Silver Investors in People Wellbeing Standards.
Andrew Harding, partner and Co-Chair of WBD Pride, comments:
"We're proud to have been recognised by Stonewall as a leading LGBTQ+ inclusive employer. Being ranked 56th, in only our third year entering the index, as well as receiving the Gold Award for our commitment to diversity and inclusion, is a fantastic achievement and shows how far our firm has come in recent years. This is also a tribute to the work put in by our WBD Pride and wider race, ethnicity and cultural heritage, disability and women's networks, with support from across the firm, to create an inclusive culture for all our people, where difference is visibly valued and welcomed."
Jessica Tresham, partner and Diversity and Inclusion Board Sponsor at WBD, adds:
"Diversity requires real inclusivity in order to create equality in the workplace, our networks and the role they play are central to that goal. Our WBD Pride and other networks work incredibly hard so we have a culture where everyone's voice is heard and our people feel empowered to be their true selves at work. Being recognised by Stonewall is a celebration of our successful inclusion journey and we look forward to continue working with our people, clients and charity partners so we can keep on learning and build on our progress."
Nancy Kelley, CEO of Stonewall (she/her) said:
"It’s been fantastic to see all of the work put in by Womble Bond Dickinson over the past year to create a workplace where LGBTQ+ staff feel free to thrive as themselves.
"For many of us, the majority of our time is spent at work, so if we have to hide who we are it can take an enormous personal toll and hold us back from fulfilling our true potential. Creating environments where we can all feel comfortable makes our workplaces a safer, better and friendlier place for everyone and helps staff be proud of who they are.
"We’re incredibly proud to see so many new entrants from a range of sectors on this year’s list, who are committed to making LGBTQ+ people’s lives better.”
Diversity and Inclusion sits at the heart of WBD's values and is a core theme of its responsible business programme. To find out more about initiatives at WBD, read the firm's latest responsible business report.
