October is Black History Month, a month-long series of events and activities taking place across the UK to celebrate and promote the contributions of black communities.
Travers Smith LLP is proud to be marking this annual event with a series of activities, including:
- Expanding on its podcast series from 2020, the firm will be publishing new episodes, including interviews with Saye Mkangama from PWC, Dan Lambeth from JP Morgan, and Olive Ahmed from The Wonder Foundation.
- Hosting a Black History Month-themed quiz.
- Building on its BAME Allyship guide, which was published in 2019, people from across the firm will be sharing their thoughts about effective allyship.
- Delivering "How to talk effectively about race at work" sessions for its people.
Creating an inclusive workplace where people can be themselves and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background, is a key priority for Travers Smith. The firm has made some good progress on BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) inclusion over the past few years, but is acutely aware that these is much to do.
In the last 18 months, the firm has implemented a number of initiatives and sped up our actions in order to fully support those in the firm, and the wider society. These include:
- delivering the first part of its anti-racism and effective allyship training series for all staff and partners
- publishing its ethnicity pay gap report
- signing up to Rare Recruitment's Race Fairness Commitment
- signing up to the Law Firm Anti-Racism Alliance (LFAA) to promote racial equity in the law
- providing financial support, via the Travers Smith Foundation, to charities which support BAME, but particularly black, communities
- scaling up its ongoing support for and work with its diversity, CSR and pro bono partners - including Your Start-up, Your Story, Justice, and more - to help dismantle structural racism and to better support our BAME, particularly black, communities.
You can read more about the firm's work in creating an inclusive workplace here.
