Mills & Reeve publishes latest gender pay gap data

The firm’s mean gender pay gap is 21.6% and the median gender pay gap is 33.5%. Meanwhile, Mills & Reeve’s mean partner gender pay gap stands at 10.8%.

Commenting on the gender pay gap data, Claire Clarke, Mills & Reeve managing partner, said: “As a firm we welcome gender pay reporting as it shines a light on this important issue and encourages businesses to actually take steps to tackle it. There is still lots of work for us to do as a firm to address this important issue but we are absolutely committed to reducing our gender pay gap and taking steps to address it.

“This time last year there was fierce debate about the publication of the partner gender pay gap at law firms. While not obliged to do so under the Government regulations, we like many other firms took the decision to report our mean partner gender pay gap in the spirit of openness and transparency. We go a step further this time around and report the gender pay gap of both general and equity partners.”

Mills & Reeve’s mean gender bonus pay gap is 50.4% and the median gender bonus pay gap is 4.5%. Unlike the gender pay gap calculation there is no conversion to an hourly rate or pro-rated figure with the gender bonus pay gap. As all bonuses are pro-rated to reflect part-time working and 31.1% of women at Mills & Reeve work part-time the mean gender bonus pay gap is therefore affected significantly.

Mills & Reeve already has a range of initiatives designed to close the gender pay gap. These include:

• Increasing the proportion of female partners to at least 30% by continuing to identify and match sponsors and mentors with women wishing to progress their development and career, as well as running further sessions on how to become a partner to increase transparency of the process and bust myths.
• Publishing guidance to improve consistency of approach on flexible working, agile working and the different types of leave available to help with a variety of different life events.
• A wellbeing strategy that aims to make sure that the firm is a safe environment to raise wellbeing concerns and that everyone is aware of the support which is available and equipped to have the right conversations.
• Mills & Reeve has just appointed its first Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing Manager.
• More people working from home on a regular basis as agile working practices are promoted at all six UK offices.
• The provision of unconscious bias training ahead of key appointment processes and decisions, from partner appointment panels to trainee selection days.

Claire concludes: “The efforts of our Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group to set stretching realistic targets and recommendations for us to follow continue and we are satisfied that while we still have a long way to travel important progress is being made.”

For more information about Mills & Reeve’s gender pay gap, see our report here.