Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance ranked in top 10 UK LGBT-friendly employers

Clifford Chance has been named one of the top UK employers in the annual Stonewall Workplace Equality Index (WEI), ranking 9th out of 415.

The Stonewall WEI is the leading UK diversity benchmark. It looks at how inclusive organisations are with respect to Lesbian Gay Bi and Trans (LGBT) diversity by scoring them on a range of criteria including client engagement, policy and practice, employee engagement and LGBT community engagement.

David Bickerton, Clifford Chance London Managing partner and Arcus Ally, comments: "We work hard to provide an inclusive environment for everyone at Clifford Chance, and we are delighted to have been placed in the UK's top ten LGBT-friendly employers. The diversity of our people is at the heart of our ability to service our clients.  We believe that, in order to provide our clients with the service they expect, everyone needs to be comfortable being themselves at work."

Kristofer Phelps, Client Group Manager at Stonewall said "Being recognised as a top 10 LGBT friendly employer is a significant achievement for any organisation. We were impressed with the way Clifford Chance not only monitor diversity statistics, but uses them to drive positive change in the firm. Their LGBT network, Arcus, is also notable for its work in engaging clients and pursuing broad participation within the workforce."

Recent LGBT initiatives at Clifford Chance include:

• Jointly hosting the European Out Leadership Summit with Credit Suisse, where business leaders discussed the importance of LGBT equality for multinational corporations.
• Launching the firm's global allies program, Arcus Allies, to promote greater inclusion for LGBT colleagues throughout the firm.
• Hosting the eighth annual international LGBT Art Exhibition at its offices in London, New York, Amsterdam and, for the first time, Hong Kong.
• Providing pro bono legal support for the Non Gendered campaign to seek legal recognition from the HM Passport Office for individuals who do not indentify as either male or female.