City law firms take nine spots in ‘Top 50 employers for women’ list

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By Katie King on

But financial services took ten

The legal profession has taken an impressive 18% of spots on this year’s ‘Top 50 employers for women’ list.

Compiled by recruitment and careers advice website Business in the Community and featured in The Times print edition today, the list is non-ranked and includes employers from sectors such as energy, professional services, the military and the arts.

But the two big players this year are legal and financial services. Though the latter pipped the former to the post with ten positions filled (20%), the City law firm presence is strong.

Stronger than last year, in fact. In 2016, eight firms made the list. These were: Linklaters, Addleshaw Goddard, CMS Cameron McKenna, Eversheds, Hogan Lovells, Herbert Smith Freehills, Pinsent Masons and Simmons & Simmons.

Today’s landscape is broadly similar, though Simmons & Simmons is out and Ashurst and Norton Rose Fulbright are now in.

The firms to feature this year are: Linklaters, the only magic circle outfit to make the list, Pinsent Masons — which recently met its 25% female partners gender diversity target — and Addleshaw Goddard.

Then there’s Ashurst, Herbert Smith Freehills and soon-to-merge CMS Cameron McKenna which also take top spots, as does Norton Rose Fulbright which just this afternoon unveiled a 40% female partner promotions round. Rounding off the nine are newly-merged outfit Eversheds Sutherland and Holborn-based Hogan Lovells.

Other big names on the list include the British Army, the Department for Transport, EDF Energy, the Home Office, Marks & Spencer, MI5, Sky and Vodafone.

Previously:

Revealed: how close firms are to reaching their gender diversity targets [Legal Cheek]

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