Barcan+Kirby LLP

At Barcan+Kirby there is a huge passion to make careers in law accessible to all. As such, the firm actively encourages flexible and part-time working for all employees and in 2020 set up an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion committee.

As of July 2022, 86% of employees at Barcan+Kirby were female. In 2018, the firm achieved a gender-balanced partnership (53%) and in 2022 the partnership stands at 60% female. In 2021, following the pandemic and a firm wide consultation, the firm put in place a new hybrid working policy to compliment its flexible and part-time offerings. Now 58% of employees chose to work in a flexible way.

All employees at Barcan+Kirby complete mandatory diversity and equality training on an annual basis. Senior employees with a management and recruitment responsibilities are given additional training on subjects such as unconscious bias, menopause and trans awareness.

In 2020 the firm set up an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee its purpose is to build a truly inclusive environment focusing on skills and attributes and providing a level playing field for all irrespective of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, race, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity.

The committee has been running for 18 months and has focused on recruitment, connecting with The Law Society and local Universities to promote the opportunities available for all in the legal sector. The EDI committee publishes a bi-monthly internal newsletter on EDI subjects specific to the firm and there is a project underway to ensure that drafting is undertaken in a gender neutral way.

Throughout the year the firm celebrates different cultural events and religious celebrations and invites employees to talk about their experiences. So far individuals have shared their stories on what its like to be part of the LGBT community, the challenges faced from being a parent of a child with autism, the celebration of Holi and also an insight into Thai New Year.