The firm has appointed three partners - Jahid Ali, Katharine Danks and Alex Payton - to lead the new initiative. In addition, these leaders are supported by a dedicated Equality & Diversity Committee, which is made up of employees from across the firm.
The initial focus of the committee will centre on race and ethnicity, gender and gender pay and social mobility, although the firm will continue to recognise and deal with the full spectrum of issues and challenges related to diversity and inclusion.
Under the renewed strategy, the firm will also seek to undertake a comprehensive equality and diversity survey and review all of its processes and policies, including recruitment, promotions, appraisals and equality and diversity training, to ensure that they continue to align with its aims.
Equality and diversity partner, Jahid Ali said, “While the firm has shown its commitment to equality and diversity for many years, we recognise that we need to constantly review what we do and double-down on our efforts to ensure this remains a top priority. We believe we can attract the best talent by recruiting from a diverse pool and we want Howes Percival to be the place where all talented individuals can flourish. By announcing our renewed strategy, we are holding ourselves accountable to achieving our aims and we will continue to challenge ourselves as the strategy develops.”
The committee has already taken forward a number of employee-led initiatives including celebrating Black History Month, launching a book and film club, initially focusing on race and ethnicity issues, and taking part in International Women’s Day in March.