Irwin Mitchell Reports Positive Results On Gender Pay

Irwin Mitchell has published its latest Gender Pay Gap Report which shows that for the fourth consecutive year the firm has narrowed its pay gap.

Introduced by the government in 2017, all companies with more than 250 employees are required to report annually on their gender pay gap.

Published this week, Irwin Mitchell’s mean gender pay gap (the difference in average hourly pay for women compared to men) was 9.1% in 2020, down 1.2% from the 10.3% in the 2019 report.

This figure is lower than last year’s average gap across law firms of comparable size (who reported their pay gap), which stood at 18.8%. Not all top 50 law firms reported their pay gap in 2020, with companies not being obliged to publish their data due to Covid-19.

The continued strong performance of the firm in terms of gender diversity is also reflected in women making up 74% of colleagues, 47% of partners and 40% of the executive board.

The 2020 report shows 73% of partner promotions, 79% of promotions into senior associate roles and 69% of promotions into associate roles were women, while 80% of newly qualified solicitors and 74% of new starters overall were female.

Taken together, the report means Irwin Mitchell can boast the highest percentage of female solicitors of any UK law firm and remains in the top 10 for its percentage of female partners.

For the second year running, the firm exceeded reporting requirements by publishing its mean ethnicity pay gap. This widened by 5.9%, from -2.3% in 2019 to -8.2% in 2020, in favour of ethnic minority colleagues, based on 74% of colleagues who recorded their ethnicity, which showed 13% came from ethnic minorities.

The report follows Irwin Mitchell being named in the Times Top 50 Employers for Women and a Top 20 employer for Women in the Super Large category of the Great Place to Work Institute.

Expert Opinion

“We’re delighted to report that our mean gender pay gap continues to move in a positive direction. There is still work to do, but we are making strong, tangible progress due to a real commitment to diversity and inclusion and the relentless focus and passion of IM Diversity Networks Leads.

“To post a fourth consecutive year of positive results is great news and is testament to the hard work that goes into creating the right environment for our colleagues to thrive, whatever their gender, ethnicity or background.” Susana Berlevy - Group Chief People Officer

Recent years have seen Irwin Mitchell expand on its efforts to encourage a truly diverse, healthy and agile workforce. This has included blind CV screening, unconscious bias training, plus mental health and wellbeing courses that have become vital in response to the pandemic.

Networking and support groups, aimed at improving the business for new parents, the LGBT+ community and women in law continue, while IM Respect celebrates and supports the different cultures and faiths of Irwin Mitchell’s clients, colleagues and  communities.

Sustainable ways of working have allowed the firm to support colleagues, allowing them to deliver high levels of client service despite working from home restrictions.