Our approach
Our commitment to creating a thriving workplace culture for our people and our clients, is reflected in the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts
Mutual respect underpins our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, which forms part of the firm’s DNA and plays out in our everyday interactions. Our people help us to create a supportive and healthy workplace for everyone. We celebrate diversity of thought, which enables us to approach challenges differently and offer our clients creative and original solutions.
Our DEI focus has organically evolved and is led by our leadership’s commitment to cultivate a work environment where everyone feels valued and able to achieve their full potential.
Our leaders are invested in our culture and committed to our DEI efforts. Employees from all areas of the business collaborate to support our DEI networks and groups. These are open to all and focus on Gender Balance, LGBTQ+, Neurodiversity, Race & Ethnicity and Wellbeing.
Diversity
Diversity is vital to our business and culture. We understand that as individuals we’re all very different and we are passionate about supporting and encouraging these differences
We are closely involved in IP Inclusive – a UK based network of Intellectual Property professionals working to make our community more equal, diverse and inclusive. We provide both financial and logistical support to its initiatives and were among the first signatories to the IP Inclusive charter in 2015.
Continuously working to expand our talent pool is key for the firm and we are closely linked to Sanctuary Graduates, a specialist graduate recruitment agency that has diverse campus connections and networks across the UK’s top universities.
A healthy work/life balance is very important to us, and we recognise the diverse need for this in all aspects of life. We are committed to ensuring a positive balance for all and our informal arrangements and agile working practices help sustain this. In recent years we have enhanced our family friendly policies, and we also offer coaching to all expectant and new parents.
Equity
Equity spearheads our DEI focus, from helping to reduce bias in our recruitment initiatives, to supporting the career development of everyone at Carpmaels & Ransford.
We are proud to be part of and support initiatives like the 10,000 Black Interns Programme. This is dedicated to addressing the underrepresentation of black talent in industries across the UK. The annual internship programme provides training and development opportunities. We have offered several internships across our Business Services departments as part of this project.
We have also signed the Race at Work Charter to support ethnic minority employees in the workplace and The Halo Code, the UK’s first Black hair code to protect and champion the rights of staff to come to work with natural hair.
Inclusion
We foster a fair and inclusive environment, where everyone’s differences are celebrated and all can participate and receive the support they need, regardless of their background or identity.
Our active LGBTQ+ network runs regular social and educational events for the network and the wider firm. We have also hosted several events with IP Out and always look forward to our annual LGBTQ+ Pride summer celebration.
We are a member of the Stonewall and some of our recent practical initiatives include introducing a Transitioning at Work Policy and encouraging the use of pronouns on employees’ email signatures.
Our dedicated group of Mental Health First Aiders actively help to remove the stigma around mental health and counsel colleagues in need of support or a sounding board.
We also offer an Employment Assistance Programme, which is a confidential wellbeing support service designed to help employees with personal and professional issues that could be affecting their home life, work life, health, or general wellbeing.
We are a firm that strives to provide a supportive and healthy workplace for our employees, while providing the best possible service for our clients. Putting the right steps in place to constantly evolve our DEI work will ensure all our people feel supported and empowered to be themselves. We flourish in this inclusive culture that has adapted to the needs of our employees, ensuring different ideas and points of view help to shape our firm.
