One of a series of Points of View by Flexility Limited on different aspects of mobile and flexible or new ways of working.

1. Points of View
Closing the Gender Gap in the
Legal Sector
How can legal firms address the gender gap to deliver
increased revenues, reduced costs, and a more balanced,
attractive, and rewarding working environment?
What does great look like? The issues today
We know that Gender Diversity is taken seriously by a firm that is Lord Davies recent report (Women on Boards, Feb 2011)
committed to fostering a culture of opportunity and access. This is recommends that FTSE 100 boards have at least 25% women by
backed up by public statements around the topic. A leading firm 2015. Whilst rejecting statutory quotas at this point, companies
will have a global policy on Gender Diversity and, in the UK, will be should report their targets by September 2011. Other
a signatory of the law society’s Diversity and Inclusion Charter, the recommendations are that the Financial Regulations Committee
flagship Diversity initiative of the legal profession. The firm will be should amend the UK Corporate Governance Code to require listed
seen as an employer of choice for women from graduate to senior companies to establish a policy on boardroom diversity, including
executive level and rates at the top of the Best Companies, Best measurable objectives for implementing the policy.
Employers, and Top 50 Where Women Want to Work rankings.
i
With over 30% of the board being represented by women, it is In a recent survey carried out by Opportunity Now of over 1,200
clearly an organisation worth joining and investing in. team members and 330 managers in 13 organisations, both male
and female managers are largely positive about their
The reality of Gender Diversity in practice is a measure of the firm’s organisations’ commitment towards diversity and agility but are
culture, values and beliefs. Successful inclusion and promotion of less likely to believe that it is manifested in practice. Over 80%
women in the workplace is embedded as business as usual, in all believe that the organisation is committed to diversity but only
processes, policies and practices – from company values, planning 63% believe that the performance measurement process
recruitment, the recruitment process itself, through to training, encourages them to support agile working. Just 60% agree that
pay and incentives, talent management including promotion their organisation recognises and rewards the talents and
processes and policies, excellence in managing career breaks and contribution of all employees whatever hours they work.
maternity coaching, staff scheduling, right time-right place (or
flexible) working practices and enablers, and retention policies and Diversity has been an issue in professional services firms for many
practices. years. Around 60% of admissions to the Law Society are women,
yet only around 23% of partners in private law firms are women,
Nobody is saying that women in business are cleverer than men:
often much less. Recent McKinsey & Co. research suggests that
instead it is a question of using the overall pool of talent. It is the
many companies have not yet developed robust programs to
mix – diversity itself – that yields better results. Wise executives do
support and increase gender diversity. In London, among the
well by keeping this in mind as they consider preparing and
biggest law firms, women have the best chance of rising to partner
promoting talented people to the executive team and ensuring this
at Herbert Smith (33% of new partners are female), DLA Piper
approach is part of business as usual.
(28%) and Eversheds (27%). Compare this also with the top ranking
The case for a strong Gender Diversity reputation goes far beyond organisations in the Female FTSE 100, such as Burberry (37.5%)
the legal requirements of the Equality Act into the area of distinct, and Diageo (36.4%) and you see the laggards have some way to go.
competitive advantage. Many organisations are proud of being an
equal opportunities employer and recognise their strengths in Flexible working conditions and smarter working practices are the
being able to attract, retain and develop the finest people from a single most frequently chosen action companies take in support of
range of backgrounds and experiences. The goal is to establish and gender diversity. But we know this is not the complete picture and
embed a superior and sustainable approach to achieving a diverse other issues from recruitment through to training, rewards and
employee and leadership base that truly reflects the diversity of promotion must also be addressed.
the clients’ needs, cultures and values.
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2. Points of View
Not just about feel good So what’s the answer?
ii
Researchers at Cranfield University in the UK have found a A best practice approach looks at the larger context of Gender
consistent and growing positive correlation between share price Diversity and its impact on the effectiveness of the firm. The
and women in management. The researchers monitor the FTSE 100 cultural dimensions, the practices, policies, protocols and
they found that of the 20 companies with the highest market measures in place at the firm need to be identified and evaluated
capitalisation, 18 had at least one woman on the executive against how they align with the strategy and structural enablers.
management team. Of the 20 companies with the lowest market Practical outcomes will be to tackle the key touch points from
capitalisation, only 8 had a woman on the executive management attracting talent and recruitment, through flexible working
team. practices, and on to training, incentives and promotion.
iii
A 19-year study the US shows the correlation between women in The starting point has to be with identifying any root causes for
executive management and short and long-term profitability. The why the organisation is not best practice today. It will then be
study of 215 Fortune 500 companies shows a strong correlation important to benchmark against what are deemed to be the best
between a good record of promoting women into the executive performing organisations across a number of elements, in order to
suite and high profitability. The 25 Fortune 500 firms with the best understand where the biggest opportunities and challenges are,
record of promoting women to high positions are between 18 and and to set some targets.
69 percent more profitable than the median Fortune 500 firms in
their industries. One of the key areas to be addressed lies in Talent Management
and working to build a sustainable talent pipeline into diverse
Companies where gender diversity is a higher priority are likelier to pools of talent which serve the current and future people needs of
be taking more measures to improve the flexibility of work, and the organisation. This involves looking at the whole employee
the results are impressive. Here are a few examples: lifecycle to identify areas where Gender Diversity is breaking down,
 Addleshaw & Goddard - now have around 87% return to work such as in maternity coaching, career-break management and
after the first child through a combination of increased communications, promotion processes and incentives, partner
flexibility in where work gets done, flexible hours, informal mentoring and training, or flexible working.
flexible working knowledge sharing groups, and providing the
right support to employees. 55% of returns are on a flexible Another key element to be addressed is implementing a working
basis. They also feature # 2 behind Accenture in the Top 50 environment and working practices that enable and encourage
Where Women Want to Work list. people, within certain boundaries, to work in more productive
 Eversheds - were able to significantly increase their female ways that the job, their personal life, and clients demand without
partner numbers through their award winning Lifestyle unnecessary restriction on time or place.
programme.
 PWC - increased return from work up from 40% to 92%. Our view is that, whilst new, more flexible ways of working will
 BT - return from maternity leave went up to 99% (v's the certainly address the Gender Diversity issue, they should not be
national average of 47%). just focused on one set of individuals. In our experience it makes
sense to implement measures that will benefit the maximum
 Deloitte - return from parental leave went from close to 0% in
number of people across the organisation, rather than just a
2000 to 86% in 2003.
specific focus on specific groups within the organisation. However,
On top of this, our own research and experience shows that by the right place to start might be to create the blueprint for more
implementing more flexible, smarter ways of working (a major flexible ways of working within a distinct group of people that will
component of addressing the Gender Gap), when deployed across cut across the organisation and will create a blueprint for a wider
the workforce, means you not only get access to a wider talent roll-out. In parallel the more Gender Diversity specific aspects to
pool, but you may be able to get more experienced talent for less complete the solution will need to be addressed as outlined above.
from areas outside of the large cities. It provides direct cashable
So it’s about identifying root causes, understanding best practice
benefits in reduced recruitment, retention and training costs, as
and how far you have to go, more flexible and smarter ways of
well as a much wider set of benefits, such as:
working and talent management. It’s also about implementing
 reduced property costs of up to 40-50%
solutions that can cut right across the organisation as far as
 reduced travel up to 30%
possible to gain maximum benefits, and which recognise the true
 increased productivity of 20% or more
diversity of the organisation.
 reduced turnover of up to 50% and
 reduced illness of up to 30-50%.
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3. Points of View
The good news
The challenges to implementing a more attractive place to work,
are well documented. We consistently hear the same concerns.
How do we change the working culture? How do we prevent
workers from becoming isolated? How do I know if people are
working if they are allowed to work more flexibly? How can I
convince senior management of the benefits?
Setting up a programme to realise these benefits is
straightforward. Sufficient decision making information can be
generated for your board in a short space of time. A plan for action
supported by workforce profiling and a compelling business case
for change can be developed in around one to two months. The
transformation itself can usually start straight away, often using
existing assets within your organisation.
As specialists in this evolving way of working, Flexility has the
necessary skills, tools and experience through our in-house team
and our partners to help you with every step of this journey. We
know how to provide insight into how your people work today and
set a vision for future ways of working. We know what it takes to
convince and support your managers to interact differently with
their teams, and we know what issues your teams are likely to
encounter as they transform the working environment. We can
help you to identify what policies and other enabling elements
need to be in place to create a more balanced, productive and
attractive working environment.
Our ability to tap into a pool of experience of providing hands on
diversity training equips us to work with managers and
professionals to identify and improve the processes, behaviours
and skills needed to achieve the level of diversity needed to meet
the aspirations of the firm. At the strategic level, our experience
of people and culture change enable us to ask the right questions
and help you make the right decisions that positively impact your
Gender Diversity results. Our experience includes:
 Recruitment and Selection
 Learning and Career Development
 Flexible Working and Wellness, including work life balance
 Performance Management
 Employee Engagement
Having worked with a range of organisations in the public and
private sector, we understand what the achievable improvement
targets should be and the tips and tricks for successful
implementation. Contact us now at info@flexility.co.uk to find out
how we can help you.
i
Opportunity Now: Out of Office - Building Teams for an Agile Future, 2010
ii
Vinnicombe & Singh, The 2003 Female FTSE Index
iii
Adler, Roy D: Women in the Executive Suite Correlate to High Profits
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