TOP 10 - OUTSTANDING EMPLOYERS 2021 *
ALLEN & OVERY
Allen & Overy is an international law firm providing legal services for global business and industry. Diversity is one of our strategic priorities. All of our work is underpinned by a set of guiding principles based on impact, accountability and openness. We want to build a balanced workforce, where everyone feels supported and where the differences between our people create opportunities not barriers. Ensuring that people from different ethnic minority backgrounds are well-represented is a priority for us, and is something we tackle at a local level across our network of offices.
ARCADIS
Arcadis is the world’s leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets. We are more than 27,000 people, in over 70 countries, dedicated to improving the quality of life for the communities we serve. We recognize that to do so we must reflect those communities, that diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging must be at the core of who we are. We believe that our varied life experiences and perspectives generate invaluable insights for our work in a complex world.
FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is a global law firm with a long-standing track record of successfully supporting the world’s leading national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments on ground-breaking and business-critical mandates. Our people make our firm, and we are committed to increasing BAME representation at all levels through our global employee network as well as helping to increase access to the profession through talent initiatives aimed at BAME individuals, including through the Freshfields Stephen Lawrence Scholarship Scheme. Our aim is to be a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone has the opportunity to achieve their potential.
HSBC UK
HSBC UK serves around 14.5 million customers across the UK, is supported by 32,000 colleagues, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc.
As a UK bank with strong connections to markets around the world, we understand the benefits that diversity brings to our customers, our business, and our people. Different ideas and perspectives help us to innovate, manage risk, and grow our business in a sustainable way.
We are proud of our inclusive and diverse culture, but we also know there is more we can do. We’ve made a series of commitments to support more Black and other ethnically diverse colleagues to succeed, including at least doubling the number of Black employees in senior leadership globally by 2025.
Tangible progress takes time, but we’re determined to address systemic barriers and build HSBC into a place where everyone is valued, respected, and supported to fulfill their full potential.
LLOYDS BANKING GROUP
Lloyds Banking Group is committed to ensuring that our workforce reflects the diversity of our customer base and we were proud to be the first FTSE 100 company in February 2018 to set a public goal to increase Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic representation at senior levels as part of our Helping Britain Prosper Plan. Our ethnicity strategy is led from the top and supported by comprehensive plans to ensure we make sustainable progress, including targeted career development interventions, a robust focus on increasing visibility of role models, and a range of activities to build cultural awareness, understanding, and advocacy across our workforce. In 2020 we launched our Race Action Plan to drive cultural change, recruitment, and progression across the Group and, more widely to support Black communities.
MACFARLANES
Macfarlanes is a distinctive London-based law firm, delivering excellence in the international legal market. We strive to foster an inclusive, forward-thinking culture, the continued development of which is a key priority. For us, the focus is on recruitment, retention and promotion to ensure that our staff have the opportunity to develop and advance their careers. Through our REACH network, we have significantly increased cultural and religious awareness, and our People Commitments which align to three main strands – balance, clarity and development – are an important element in our objective to create a more diverse workforce.
MACQUARIE GROUP
Macquarie Group (Macquarie) is a diversified financial services group providing specialist, global expertise in areas such as infrastructure, energy and commodities. Founded in Sydney Australia in 1969, the group now operates in 32 markets globally. Macquarie has been an active investor in the UK for over 30 years, employing around 2,000 directly with a further 16,000 employed through the businesses we manage. We focus on innovation, careful risk management and delivering sustained long-term value for our clients, partners, investors, staff and the broader communities in which we operate. We recognise that equity, success and personal empowerment must be available to all our people as a right, not a privilege, and we must continue our efforts both outside and within the workplace to build a future that secures these rights for everyone. You can discover more about Macquarie at https://www.macquarie.com/
MOODY'S CORPORATION
We believe in a workforce that represents an array of backgrounds and experiences, helps create an environment that maximizes every employee’s contribution, widens the leadership pipeline, and enhances our work, including the quality of our opinions, products, and services. With over 11,400 employees in more than 40 countries, we aspire to be a place where everyone feels comfortable being their true selves, where we demonstrate empathy and civility – and where we celebrate the differences that make us stronger.
NATIONAL GRID
National Grid is one of the world’s largest investor-owned energy companies, committed to delivering electricity and gas safely, reliably, and efficiently to the customers and communities we serve.
We play a vital role in connecting millions of people to the energy they use, through our regulated utility businesses in the UK and the US; with principal operations in electricity and gas transmission and distribution, as well as National Grid Ventures. Our ambition is to operate and develop our business in a way that results in a more inclusive culture. We are committed to building a workforce that represents the communities we serve and creating an environment where each individual feels respected, fairly treated, valued and able to reach their full potential.
NATWEST GROUP
Creating a healthy, inclusive, and diverse workforce is a fundamental part of building a purpose-led organization, one that champions potential and helps people, families, and businesses to thrive. One where everyone can bring the best of themselves to work, every day, knowing they’ll be valued for who they are.
PARAMOUNT (FORMERLY VIACOMCBS NETWORKS INTERNATIONAL)
Paramount [formerly ViacomCBS Networks international (VCNI)] comprises many of the world’s most iconic entertainment brands, including Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Paramount Network, Channel 5, Network 10, Telefe, Viacom 18 and Pluto TV.
VCNI’s focus on global diversity, equity and inclusion is a movement, not a moment, and it’s important for us to continue to tackle racial representation head-on. To reflect this commitment, we’ve rolled out several key measures whilst strengthening those that we already had in place.
These include the establishment of our VCNI Race & Equity Task Forces, which work across three broad areas – Programming & Audience, Creative & Talent and Employee Inclusion – to develop new initiatives that help drive meaningful change across the business.
We have also been working on an ongoing basis with Caerus Executive. This collaboration has been particularly valuable during 2019/2020 as supporting our black, Asian and minority ethnic employees and making ViacomCBS an inclusive destination for BAME talent, is a business imperative.
Earlier this year, we also implemented a ‘no diversity, no commission’ policy across our UK channels, and created new in-house opportunities for BAME talent through a sponsorship programme and a ‘Promotion Opportunity Project’ for those in the production sector.
By putting transparency and accountability at the heart of the international inclusion strategy, VCNI is spearheading a values-driven approach that will embed diversity, equity and inclusion into every aspect of the company’s operations. Fundamentally, we value our people and we work to weave diversity and inclusion into our DNA.
* Following completion of the Maturity Matrix, this year we have included 11 Top Employers due to the scoring being too close to differentiate a clear Top 10.