Norton Rose Fulbright named in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2022

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has been named in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2022 list for the eighth time in ten years.

The firm has been recognised for taking action to decrease gender inequality in the workplace.

The Times Top 50 Employers for Women is the UK’s most highly profiled and well-established listing of employers striving for gender equality in the workplace. Run by Business in the Community (BITC) - The Prince’s Responsible Business Network, and The Times for more than a decade, the incredibly competitive process identifies companies which make gender equality part of the way they do business, working to embed it at all levels.

This year’s applicants were closely assessed on the work they do to remove the drivers that enforce gender inequality, from flexible working and family-friendly policies to pay, reward and progression. This year BITC included further assessment to include the lived experience of women employees by asking what areas they feel need to be improved.

Farmida Bi, Norton Rose Fulbright’s global chair, commented:

“We are entirely committed to the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in our business. We continue to focus on increasing gender diversity and representation of women at all levels through target setting, career and talent management programmes, and policies and initiatives that support more flexible and inclusive ways of working.”

Katy Neep, Gender Equality Campaign Director at Business in the Community, said:

“The cost of living crisis following hot on the heels of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 faced by women has further shone a light on how far we have to go on gender equality. Without action from all employers, we will end up chasing our tails while trying to eradicate the inequalities gap and create truly inclusive workplaces for all women.”

“The Times Top 50 gives us hope that we are making strong progress in our goal towards gender equality and in our 40th year we call on all employers to be bolder, braver and faster in achieving that goal.”

“This year’s application process was the most competitive one we have ever seen. Employers like Norton Rose Fulbright haven’t lifted their foot off the pedal when it comes to supporting women at work and they are a strong example of what commitment to making gender inequality a thing of the past looks like.”

Norton Rose Fulbright is committed to ambitious targets to drive a more gender representative partnership and to encourage accountability within practice groups to achieve them. The firm have recently set new targets for both its partnership and management boards aspiring to have 40% men, 40% women and 20% of any gender (men, women or non-binary individuals). Currently, 30% of partners in the UK are women. Women also represent 50% of the firm’s Europe, Middle East and Asia management committee.

The firm has a disciplined approach to the attraction and recruitment of women, a robust talent management process which assesses the diversity and bench-strength of the talent pipeline and targeted development plans to nurture rising talent. There are a number of programmes in place to promote and include women at all levels, including mentoring, sponsorship and a career strategies programme, coaching for expectant and returning parents, as well as networks for women, working parents and working carers. The firm was pleased to report a decrease in its UK gender pay gap.

The full list of The Times Top 50 Employers for Women 2022 can be found online here.