Gender Equality at Ashurst

Creating a workplace that is committed to improving gender equality and balance within the firm is important to us.

Women make up over half of our business and it is critical we retain and nurture this talent by providing opportunities to develop and thrive. Our Women's Networks organise a range of events and discussions related to gender equality issues and provide mentoring and sponsorship opportunities. Our Global Chief Executive Officer, Paul Jenkins is personally committed to building a diverse and inclusive culture and is a member of the Champions of Change Coalition.

Ashurst has set new gender targets, which were determined by the Board in consultation with the Executive Team and the Committed to Change Advisory Group. The following targets are to be achieved by 2026:

40% women, 40% men and 20% flexible (women, men or non-binary persons) representation at partnership and senior leader level.

These targets will help continue to drive change within the firm and marks our clear commitment to inclusion, diversity and belonging and improving gender equality.

Caring Responsibilities

We know that our partners and employees can be their best when they are supported both professionally and personally, we are focused on empowering our people to find the flexibility they need to accommodate their varied responsibilities. Many people assume multiple caring responsibilities over the course of a lifetime and these responsibilities may vary as personal circumstances change.

Parental Leave, Pregnancy Loss & Fertility

We have established a Global Parental Leave Policy that applies consistent entitlements to all of our people across all offices which include:

26 weeks of fully paid leave – available to any eligible staff member irrespective of gender identity;
No distinction between primary/secondary and maternity/paternity - no gendered language with a strong focus on gender equality;
Enhanced leave options include more flexibility within the first two years after the child's birth/adoption, where leave can be taken in one consecutive block, two blocks or may incorporate a fixed term part-time arrangement;
Inclusion of surrogacy, foster and kinship care;
Pregnancy Loss Provisions which include two weeks of paid leave plus an additional five days for related appointments;
Inclusion of five days paid leave per year for anyone needing to access fertility treatments; and
Legal staff to have a three-month reduction in chargeable hours targets when they return from extended parental leave to support their transition back to work.
We also offer all staff the opportunity to participate in 1:1 parental leave coaching.