Coincidentally, on a day I'm working with my colleagues on Anthony Collins' gender and ethnicity pay gap report, the independent think tank, Global 50/50, published their inaugural report on gender equality in leadership, policy, and institutional practice across the global law and justice sector. 

It's a timely reminder of the importance and benefit of gender equality. 

The pay gap is one metric but there's a much bigger picture. We will give the best legal advice and strongest representation to our clients when we reflect those we serve. 

That's part of the vision behind Anthony Collins' current ED&I strategy and our wider 2030 strategy. At the time of writing our pay gap report, 46% of our partners are female. For context, in the Global 50/50, only 13% of firms had achieved this (the report classed gender parity as 45-55% of leaders).

Whilst we should be proud of achieving gender parity at partner level, there are gaps we acknowledge and are committed to working on. One thing that strikes me as I read the Global 50/50 report is the importance of not just having commitments and action, but publishing this externally. It's all well and good doing it, but we need people to see we can, that we're taking this seriously and that they can hold us accountable if we don't live up to what's expected. 

Anthony Collins became a signatory of the Law Society Women In Law Pledge around 2020 and we've been working hard on our commitments since then. These have paid dividends, with a growth in female leaders, Board membership, flexible working, and career progression after maternity leave, amongst other things. 

I'd encourage other law firms to look at the Women In Law Pledge, too. It's a solid commitment, with impact and accountability. The Law Society run roundtable meetings for signatory firms and can give individual advice on specific issues.