Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP has become a signatory to the Race Fairness Commitment (RFC), a series of commitments for the recruitment, progression and retention of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) talent in UK law firms.

The RFC helps businesses and organisations to make sure that people from all ethnic backgrounds have an equal opportunity to succeed. Commitments include close analysis of recruitment and progression data, ensuring that everyone in the firm is clear racism is not tolerated, capturing employee sentiment of ethnic minorities, and championing junior ethnic minority talent.

"When it comes to ethnic diversity, law firms have a lot to do; we have a lot to do. But we are committed to change,” said Eifion Morris, chief executive of Stephenson Harwood. “Cross-sector collaboration, and commitments like this, challenge and support us to take meaningful action that will make a lasting difference. I'm really pleased to sign us up.”

Raph Mokades, founder and managing director of Rare, said: “What seems possible in terms of racial justice has shifted this year, and the Race Fairness Commitment is about real change. It’s a brave step for the law firms to take, as well as a necessary one. It goes beyond merely not discriminating, and it goes beyond the usual diversity and inclusion activities you see at many organisations. For law firms, it’s about recognising a problem and hunting it down, and I’m impressed that so many have taken this major step.”

The Commitment has been launched by Rare, an organisation that works with businesses and governments, to diversify their talent pools and help them reflect the communities and countries they serve. Stephenson Harwood uses Rare’s contextual recruitment software, a tool that enables the firm to put applicants’ achievements in context so that it doesn’t miss out on top talent.

Further details on the Race Fairness Commitment can be viewed here: www.Racefairnesscommitment.com.

Stephenson Harwood is also a signatory of the Race at Work Charter, a complementary commitment to the Race Fairness Commitment. The Charter, a campaign by Business in the Community, outlines five calls to action to ensure that ethnic minority employees are represented at all levels in an organisation.