Case Studies - LGB Community Engagement

Progressive employers recognise that being forward-thinking on lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) equality is not only crucial in the labour market – LGB people are also consumers and service users, representing a market estimated to be worth £70–81 billion per year in Britain alone. For many LGB people – and the wider population – an organisation’s attitude towards the LGB community is just as important as its behaviour as an employer.

Global law firm Baker & McKenzie recognises the importance of signalling its commitment to equality to the wider lesbian, gay and bisexual community – and in particular, potential employees. It has focused on both incorporating messages about LGB equality in its mainstream recruitment material and targeting lesbian, gay and bisexual students
and jobseekers.

The firm’s graduate recruitment brochure profiles both the work of the firm’s LGBT employee network and its membership of the Diversity Champions programme. Its profile in the Sunday Times ‘Best Places To Work’ mentions its pro-bono work on behalf of lesbian and gay asylum seekers.

In order to target talented gay candidates, Baker & McKenzie participated in DiversCity, a graduate recruitment event for lesbian, gay and bisexual students interested in a career in law. Held in collaboration with a number of other firms, the event gave openly gay lawyers at Baker & McKenzie the opportunity to share their career experiences with students as they embark on their careers. The firm additionally sponsor Oxford University’s LGBT Student Society.

The success of these initiatives is evaluated through the firm’s Recruitment Working Party, which reviews monitoring data to establish the firm’s success at attracting applications from gay candidates.