The firm has outlined its targets to increase its gender, ethnicity and sexuality diversity across the next five to ten years.

Clifford Chance has unveiled a host of diversity targets covering gender, ethnicity and sexuality that it is aiming to hit within the next five to ten years.

The new roster of targets include an aim to have 3% of its global partnership to identify as LGBT+ by 2025.

The firm is the first major international firm to introduce a global LGBT+ target.

The firm is also aiming for its global partnership to be at least 40% female by 2030. This target will apply to all levels of the firm's global and regional structures, including leadership groups, according to a statement by the firm. 

Different jurisdictions have individual gender targets. In the U.K. the firm is aiming to increase the proportion of female partners to 30% by 2025, followed by another target for 2030 with the goal of having a 41% female partnership by that time.

In Asia Pacific the firm is looking to boost its current female partnership to 35.1% by 2025, and is also aiming to have a 45% female partnership across its APAC offices by 2030.

In the Americas the firm is looking to boost the proportion of female partners to 23.8% by 2025, and 35.2% by 2030, while in Continental Europe it has set targets to have a 20.8% female partnership by 2025, and 30.8% by 2030.

The firm's Middle East arm has the smallest target, with CC aiming for a 12.5% female partnership by 2025 and a 25% partnership by 2030 in the arm.

A document published on CC's website in January of this year showed that the firm currently has a 20% female global partnership.

It has also outlined its plans to increase its ethnicity diversity in its U.K. and U.S. regions. The new ethnicity targets are also a first for Clifford Chance, which is aiming for 15% of new partners and 30% of senior associates and senior business professionals by 2025 to have a minority ethnic background.

Data published by the firm on its website shows that in its U.S. offices, 5.7% of the firm's partnership and 30.9% of its other lawyers there identify as minority ethnic. Current data for the firm's U.K. offices, meanwhile, show that 7.4% of partners and 27.6% of other lawyers identify as coming from a minority ethnic background.

In a statement, the firm's global managing partner Matthew Layton said that the "new targets will be a powerful catalyst for the change we want to see and I hope they will set a new standard for our industry".

Global head of people and talent Laura King added in a statement: "The targets announced today are a step forward, but not a complete solution. Talking about numbers is the easy part; we now need to deliver on the actions which will enable inclusive teams to thrive.

"No matter what challenges the external environment brings, we must maintain momentum and accelerate our progress, because it is during challenging times, such as the current global environment, that a firm's values come to the fore. We are committed to breaking down the barriers that are restricting recruitment, progress and retention."

The new diversity announcements build upon initial targets outlined in CC's annual gender pay gap report published in April, as part of which the firm said that it would be targeting a 30% female partnership by 2025 and that 15% of its new U.K. partners were to be from ethnic minority backgrounds by the same date.

CC was one of the top three law firms listed as having the highest proportion of black lawyers in the U.K. according to Law.com International research that highlighted the lack of racial diversity within the profession.

 

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