30% Club press release of 13 December 2012:
“The 30% Club has been working on a new initiative to improve the number of women partners in UK professional services firms. A group of ten law firms and seven accountancy/consultancy firms, most of whose managing partners are members of the 30% Club, participated in a 10 week project, co-ordinated by the 30% Club and facilitated by McKinsey and Company. The purpose of the initiative was to examine why, notwithstanding the efforts of individual firms to date, progress remains limited as to the numbers of women partners in professional services firms, and suggest ideas for firms to explore to accelerate the pace of change. Key components of the initiative included interviews with senior leadership and HR managers, the provision of quantitative data on pipeline and talent processes and the participation by over 700 fee-earners in an online feedback survey, results of which were analysed on an anonymised and aggregated basis.
A key finding was that attrition was not the root cause of lack of women in partnership, nor prioritisation, with 80 per cent of firms having diversity as a strategic priority and an array of efforts being undertaken by individual firms. Rather it appeared the issue stems from inconsistent commitment to diversity at all levels in firms, questions around the partner promotion process which both men and women believe may not evaluate ability and different leadership styles in a way that furthers equality, and differences between men and women’s perceptions of being a partner and the process towards promotion. Ideas to address the challenges include embedding greater accountability for progress amongst all partners and effecting a shift from a diversity strategy focussed on women to a “talent” strategy, with a particular emphasis on sponsorship. An increased scrutiny of critical systems, such as work allocation and annual evaluation is also suggested, to ensure fairness of allocation and attribution of value to outputs in a broader range of ways. Continued collaboration and engagement with key stakeholders, including the client community, are also key, with a commitment made by these firms to reconvene to review progress on a regular basis going forward.”
