Pinsent Masons retains ranking as top 50 employer for social mobility

The Index created by the Social Mobility Foundation in 2017, recognises the top 50 UK employers who have taken the most action to ensure they are open to accessing and progressing talent from all backgrounds.

This year it finds having a workforce that is diverse in terms of social background is fast becoming as important to employers as being diverse in terms of gender and race.

Pinsent Masons has been recognised for a number of its initiatives, including the firm's long-term outreach programme with young people in schools where the need for support is highest, and its recently launched apprenticeship scheme.

Deborah McCormack, Head of Early Talent at Pinsent Masons said:

"Improving socio-economic diversity across the legal profession is essential and I'm pleased that Pinsent Masons' continued passion and commitment has enabled further progress in this area.  Whilst we know there is a lot more to be done, I'm proud of the solid foundations that we have in place upon which to build."

David Johnston, Chief Executive of the Social Mobility Foundation, said:

“We have been very impressed by the efforts employers are making to ensure their organisation is open to talent from all backgrounds. We can really see organisations taking a whole host of actions to try and ensure that they have a diverse workforce in terms of socio-economic background as well as in terms of gender and race; they in turn are benefitting from accessing a much wider talent pool than they have traditionally recruited from.”

Over 100 employers from 18 sectors, who collectively employ over one million people, entered the 2018 Index. Entrants included banks, law firms, Government departments, engineering firms, retail firms and technology companies.