Shoosmiths ranked as a top business in The Social Mobility Employer Index
December, 2022 - Milton Keynes, England
The Social Mobility Foundation has unveiled this year’s Social Mobility Employer Index, including Shoosmiths as one of 75 leading businesses leading the way on social change.
The Social Mobility Employer Index was launched in 2017 and has become a leading authority on employer-led social mobility. It assesses and ranks UK employers on the actions they take to ensure they are open to talent from all social backgrounds.
Employers are evaluated and benchmarked across seven areas: their work with young people, routes into the employer, the attraction of staff, recruitment and selection, data collection, progression of staff and experienced hires, and advocacy. The data and insights from this process are published in an annual Key Findings Report which features a ranking of the 75 top-performing employers on social mobility that year.
Employers with close to 1 million workers entered the Index this year.
Shoosmiths has demonstrated strong progress by jumping four places since last year to 38,
Rt Hon. Alan Milburn, chair, Social Mobility Foundation, said: “The economic crisis is widening the deep social divide in Britain. Young people are on the frontline of this great divide which is why employer-led social mobility efforts are so vital to creating opportunity based on merit and not social class. The employers represented in this year’s Index are proving that it is possible for aptitude and ability, not background or birth, to decide your progress in life. They are doubling down on improving social mobility, but many more employers need to join them.”
Sarah Atkinson, CEO, Social Mobility Foundation, said: “The Index shows businesses and organisations are starting to lead the way to combat the cost-of-living crisis for their employees. Opportunity creation for the next generation must be at the top of their agenda, especially as working people are struck with a class pay gap and the rise in living costs eating away at their salaries. The SMF stands ready to support employers of all sizes in their social mobility journey.”
Sophie Cowen, head of diversity and inclusion at Shoosmiths, said: “We are very proud to have been featured in the index for the fourth year in a row.
“As a firm, it is important to ensure that we play our part in advancing change in the area of social mobility, and we do this through many external and internal projects from community outreach and making grants through our Shoosmiths Foundation to reviewing our own processes and ensuring those are optimised to ensure there is not only access to opportunity in the profession, but also equality at every stage of a career.
“Our efforts will continue to evolve, and we strongly believe that it is incumbent on businesses to hold themselves accountable so we can collectively make a societal shift.”
The Social Mobility Index can be viewed here.
