Celebrating diversity

Like any family, we’re all different – and that’s something we celebrate.

We mark key events, as well as listen to our ethnic minorities, LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus), sex and gender, menopause and disability networks who highlight various issues and provide support. These are supported by the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) Committee, which is a sub-committee of and report regularly to the Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS) board and helps shape plans for the future.

Stamping out racism
We are proud members of the Race Fairness Commitment – A racial equality commitment for legal firms to ensure fairness at work for people of all ethnic minority backgrounds.

We celebrate Black History Month to highlight and support the needs of our colleagues and society at large.

ACS support Wear Red Day, an initiative started by the charity Show Racism the Red Card (SRTRC) which utilises the high-profile status of football and football players to help tackle racism in society.

Adoption of the Halo Code

At AC, we recognise and celebrate our colleagues’ identities, fostering an ethos of equity and respect. We believe hair texture and style should never be used to discriminate against anyone. By embracing the Halo Code, we agree to affirm the pledges and we proactively stand against discrimination towards Afro-textured hair. 

This one-of-a-kind initiative founded by young Black organisers from The Advocacy Academy, explicitly protects employees in the workplace and schools who wear their natural hair and protective hairstyles associated with their racial, ethnic and cultural identities. Hair discrimination continues to be a source of racial injustice, particularly affecting Black people in the UK. Based on a study by World Afro Day and De Montfort University, one in five Black women feel societal pressure to straighten their hair for work.

Transparency is key
In our 2023 gender and ethnicity pay gap report, we published our ethnicity pay gap and shared our partner pay data for gender and ethnicity.

What we found:

• 20% of our employees identify as from ethnic minorities.
• Our mean ethnicity pay gap is 19.4% across the employees of the firm.
• Our ethnicity pay gap is understood when we see that only 11% of our upper pay quartile employees are from an ethnic minority.
• 17% of our partners identify as from ethnic minorities.
• Our mean ethnicity pay gap for partners is 0.6%.
• Our combined partner and employee mean ethnicity pay gap is 18.2%.

Commitments for 2024

Identify and eliminate barriers

• Create an independent panel and transparent process to consider individual concerns regarding pay equity.
• Actively seek feedback regarding ED&I in exit interviews.

Improve fairness and offer targeted support

• Review internal recruitment/promotion processes to ensure equity for progression for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Increase diversity at leadership level

• Attendance from a female and/or person from an underrepresented group at 50% of board meetings per annum, to increase diversity in discussions and decision-making and, in the long term, redressing the balance of board membership.
• Continue to ensure targeted mentoring, coaching and training for people identified as leadership succession candidates.

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