Controversy over transgender rights has not deterred the legal profession from taking part in campaign group Stonewall’s annual employer benchmarking exercise, rankings released today suggest. Law firms are the second largest category of organisation to feature in Stonewall’s Top 100 list of ’most inclusive employer’, after financial services.
The list of 14 participating law firms is headed by magic circle firms Clifford Chance at number three and Slaughter and May at number nine. International firm Pinsent Masons ranks tenth, above Mayer Brown International (13th) Eversheds Sutherland (18th) and Leigh Day (21st). The Solicitors Regulation Authority stands in 28th place.
Stonewall says that its Top 100 Employers List is compiled through submissions to a free, voluntary benchmarking tool, the Workplace Equality Index. 'All submissions are then marked against thorough and standardised criteria and the top 100 employers are picked out for their excellent work in creating inclusive workplaces for their LGBTQ+ staff,' the organisation said.
Whitehall departments, which featured strongly in previous lists, are almost absent this year following a call by Liz Truss as equalities minister for them to pull out of Stonewall’s related 'Diversity Champions' programme. The Ministry of Justice ranked fifth in 2020 but does not appear in today's most inclusive employer rankings. The MoJ announced last summer it would not be renewing its membership of the programme.
Over the past two years Stonewall’s position on transgender rights has come under fire from several quarters. This included an investigation by specialist barrister Akua Reindorf commissioned by the University of Essex which found that the university's policy on trans and non-binary staff was based on Stonewall’s 'erroneous understanding of the law'. The university's vice-chancellor subsequently issued a number of apologies relating to the report.
Stonewall said today that 'contrary to reports in the national press, Stonewall’s Diversity Champions programme continues to grow’, with more than 900 clients taking part.
Paul Philip, chief executive of the SRA, said: 'We are pleased that our work to promote LGBT inclusion both in the profession and within our organisation has been recognised by Stonewall and that we can count ourselves in the Top 30 employers in the country. This reflects the importance of a diverse and inclusive legal sector, meeting the needs of people from every community.'
