At Howard Kennedy, we believe in fostering a fair, respectful and inclusive culture. A culture where all team members feel empowered and supported to be themselves and achieve their career ambitions, while being valued and rewarded fairly.
To monitor progress against our diversity, equity and inclusion commitments, pay gap analysis is one of the measures we use to understand the progress we are making and to help decide where to focus efforts into the future.
The Gender Pay Gap ('GPG') measures the difference between the average hourly total pay for all men versus all women at an aggregate level across an organisation. The firm has a continuing commitment to reduce the pay gap further at both the mean and median level.
As at April 2023 (the date at which pay must be analysed), we have seen an increase in both our mean and median gender pay gap for our employees compared to our 2022 data.
It is important to note here that the GPG figures do not relate to equal pay. We monitor our reward practices and processes to ensure we pay our people fairly for equivalent roles.
Advancing gender equality: our commitment and progress
In 2022/23, approximately 50% of our vacancies were for roles in the lower salary quartile (i.e. in the bottom 25% of salaries paid to all employees) and the majority of these were filled by women. This has resulted in a widening of the GPG.
As a firm, we are proud that we have excellent female representation at all levels; 36% of our partners are female, and over 69% of our non-partner fee earners are female. This compares to an average of 37% in comparable firms at partner level, and 62% of other fee earners.
We offer a suite of development initiatives to support individuals at every stage of the pipeline including:
- Academy, developing the competencies that support individuals to grow within their role.
- Aspire, developing the mindset and capabilities of individuals with a case for promotion.
- Parental coaching is provided to support parents to return to work and regain career development momentum after parental leave.
In 2024, as part of our refreshed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ('DEI') strategy, we re-launched our DEI Committee and the networks. The Empower network's vision is to create a firm where gender is woven into its fabric, where individuals are respected, regardless of their gender, and are empowered to reach their full potential and have access to all opportunities within the firm. The firm actively champions diversity, inclusivity and equitable opportunities by dismantling barriers and stereotypes and nurturing a culture of mutual respect and understanding. In the year ahead, we will continue to engage with our people and review our working practices, policies and processes to ensure they are fair and inclusive.
The full report provides all data and the background to the numbers, as well as the actions and plans we are undertaking to redress this imbalance.
Download our statement
