TLT is celebrating reaching its female partnership target two years early. The national firm announced this week that women have held 33% of partner roles since the start of the financial year.
TLT said the latest achievement demonstrated steady progress in getting women leaders to the top of the firm. A gender equality strategy was introduced in 2019 in collaboration with the firm’s Women’s Equality Network. The strategy has helped double the number of women partner promotions and hires in the last three years, to just over 50%.
An internal taskforce was set up to monitor diversity progress. As well as reviewing data to check TLT is on track to achieving its goals and understand any gaps or opportunities, the taskforce has been responsible for introducing gender balanced shortlists and hiring panels.
The firm told the Gazette that external agencies who help with partner hiring are required to sign up and abide by the firm’s dedicated EDI pledge, ‘which dictates that agencies should provide balanced long and shortlists (particularly in relation to gender) in all instances’. Female candidates meet at least one female partner during the recruitment process.
Chief people officer Helen Hodgkinson, who is on the taskforce, said: ‘Whilst our current position is promising and things are improving, we still have a way to go. We know it is still mostly women who take the predominant amount of caring responsibilities and, with women representing 70% of our business, this is a significant barrier to improving gender diversity in our top roles.’
Barriers were being tackled ‘head on’ with measures centred on parents and carers, such as paternity and non-birthing parent leave provision, consisting of four weeks’ full pay.
The firm confirmed a new female partnership target will be set.
