Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP has been ranked 53rd out of the top 75 employers in the Social Mobility Employer Index 2023. This is the first time the firm has entered the Social Mobility Employer Index.

The Social Mobility Employer Index evaluates employer-led social mobility through a rigorous assessment of the steps being taken by employers to ensure talented individuals from all social backgrounds are given fair opportunities to join and progress in organisations.

Employers are required to provide information demonstrating that their work is inclusive to all socio-economic backgrounds in seven key areas: work with young people; routes into the employer; attraction; recruitment and selection; data collection; progression, culture and experienced hires; advocacy.

The firm's efforts to select and recruit individuals from all backgrounds scored the highest in the index submission. Actions taken by Stephenson Harwood include using the Rare contextual recruitment system to spot talent in the firm's early careers opportunities; this tool enables users to contextualise the performance of applicants to identify 'stand out' candidates regardless of background. The firm has also taken a range of actions to remove financial barriers to the profession, such as providing accommodation funding to placement scheme candidates from lower socio-economic backgrounds who live outside London, and the firm's scholarship programme, which offers students £15,000 per year to cover the costs of university fees and contribute towards living expenses. Scholarship recipients also have a mentor at the firm, are provided with work experience and are guaranteed a place at an assessment centre for a training contract.

"A person's socio-economic background should never determine their future prospects," said Eifion Morris, Chief Executive, Stephenson Harwood. "The opportunity to become a lawyer and develop a successful career should be open to all. This ranking reflects our determination to attract and recruit talented people from lower socio-economic backgrounds and, as importantly, to ensure that our workplace is one in which those colleagues can be themselves and thrive; that's when we reap the benefits of diversity."

Click here to find out more about the Stephenson Harwood scholarship programme.