Mayer Brown named a Top 75 employer for social mobility

London — Mayer Brown has today been ranked as one of the Top 75 employers for social mobility in the Social Mobility Employer Index 2019. 

The Index ranks the top 75 UK employers who have taken the most action to improve social mobility in the workplace and is believed to be the only one of its kind in the world. Created by the Social Mobility Foundation, the Index benchmarks Britain's employers on the actions they are taking to ensure that they are open to accessing and progressing talent from all classes. 

Employers are assessed on everything from the work they do with young people, apprenticeships, recruitment and selection processes and how people from lower income backgrounds progress within their organizations. 

More than 120 employers from 18 sectors, who collectively employ over 1.1 million people in the UK, took part in the Index survey. The entrants, representing a range of sectors including law, banking, engineering, retail and insurance, answered around 100 questions across seven different areas. Over 14,000 employees also took part in a voluntary employee survey. 

Mayer Brown is ranked 51 in the Index for the commendable work it has done to enable those from lower socio-economic backgrounds to succeed. Measures include new engagement programmes with MyKindofFuture and All About School Leavers, parent information open days for legal and business services apprenticeships and outreach with non-Russell group universities. 

Annette Sheridan, Global Chief Human Resources Officer at Mayer Brown, said: "We are delighted to once again be ranked in this benchmarking index. It is important that we continue to build on our efforts to engage, attract and support students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. While there is more to do, we are making progress through our partnerships, skills sessions and the promotion of our apprenticeship and vacation scheme opportunities." 

David Johnston OBE, Chief Executive of the Social Mobility Foundation, said: “We are delighted to see more and more employers every year taking part in our Social Mobility Employer Index. The quality of submissions this year meant we have increased the size of our Top list from 50 to 75 and it shows the very wide range of organizations trying to make progress on social mobility. Whilst no employer would say they have cracked their social mobility challenge, all of the employers in the Top list – along with those that didn’t quite make it – should be congratulated for the efforts they’re making to ensure their organization is open to talent from all class backgrounds.” 

The Rt Hon Alan Milburn, Chair of the Social Mobility Foundation, said: "Social mobility is becoming a cause for more and more of our country's top employers. When politics is weak, society needs to be strong - so it is welcome a growing number of employers are stepping up to the plate.  They recognize the need to open their doors to a wider pool of talent both to address growing public concerns about unfairness and to reap the business benefits from having more diverse workforces. The onus is now on all of our country's top employers to do the same."