Law firm TLT aiming for 50% female partners by 2029

Bristol-headquartered law firm TLT has launched a new target to achieve 50% female representation at partner level by 2029, having achieved a level of 33% last year - two years ahead of its 2025 target.

TLT said it will achieve this via initiatives, including offering colleagues a flexible approach to working, top-tier family support and later in life programmes, and a pioneering wellbeing programme with private health care and a cash back plan to support mental health and wellbeing.

READ MORE: TLT advises Happy Days Nurseries on investment by Zetland Capital

The firm introduced its gender strategy in 2019 in collaboration with its Women’s Equality Network (WEN), which has resulted in women accounting for 66% of partner promotions at TLT in the last three years.

"Progressing female talent into top positions at TLT continues to be a priority," said Helen Hodgkinson, chief people officer at TLT.

"Progressing the female health agenda and acknowledging that women's health differs from their male counterparts are essential in making sure all our women can have a long and successful career.

"Our plans for the next five years, as we work towards this significant milestone, will focus on enhancing and developing our wellbeing policies and approaches to ensure we’re giving women every possible chance to succeed, which we will continue to support with our focus on flexibility.

"As part of our ambitions to improve diversity in senior positions, we remain committed to attracting women in our lateral partner hiring, an area in which we have seen outstanding progress in the last twelve months," she added.

Nina Searle, partner and sponsor of TLT’s Women's Equality Network, added: "Setting this new target marks the next step in our journey and is vital to our success for two key reasons.

"One we want to show the next generation of women that TLT will offer them ample opportunities to progress their careers as far as they want to and that the firm will support them every step of the way.

"And two, we need to ensure that we understand and are representative of the clients that we serve.

Although we still have a long way to go, we are treading the right path to being one of the most progressive and diverse law firms in the UK."

TLT has offices in Bristol, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast, as well as a specialist ship finance team in Piraeus, Greece. It has over 150 partners and employs around 1,400 people.