Workforce Progress report 2023

The Equality Act 2010 sets out public sector equality duties. We must comply with the duties and have due regard for the need to:

1. Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act.
2. Advance equality of opportunity between people of different groups or protected characteristics. Protected characteristics are:
   • age
   • disability
   • gender reassignment
   • marriage and civil partnership
   • pregnancy and maternity
   • race
   • religion or belief
   • sex
   • sexual orientation.
3. Foster good relations between people from different groups.

The equality duty is about integrating consideration of equality and good relations into day-to-day business. It means organisations need to look at how they can positively contribute to the advancement of equality and good relations. It requires these considerations to be reflected into policies and the delivery of services, including internal policies, and for these to be kept under review. Within this report we reflect on the progress we are making.

Our gender and ethnicity pay gaps

While publication of our Gender Pay Gap report is a legal requirement, there is no current obligation to publish our Ethnicity Pay Gap report. We choose to publish this to support our commitment to making a difference and encouraging regulated law firms to do the same.

Our 2023 gender median pay gap was 9.3%, which falls below the 14.3% for the UK (Office of National Statistics (ONS), 2023). It was also lower than our 2022 results, which was 11.2%. We continue to address the gender pay gap and analyse diversity data to make sure there is fairness within the employee lifecycle.

Our median ethnicity pay gap decreased from 15% in 2021 to 12.7% in 2022 and to 7.6% in 2023. The national median is 2.3% (ONS, 2019). We have also published an action plan addressing our aspiration to significantly improve ethnic diversity at senior levels.

Our values

In 2022, we also changed our organisational values and aligned our organisational behaviours to them, which link to our wider EDI work:

To help to describe our work developing a fully inclusive culture and a diverse workforce, this report is in three sections. It builds on our report from 2022.

Organisation

As a regulator, we expect the law firms we regulate to create and champion an equal and diverse culture, so we need to make sure we do the same. We expect our staff to consider EDI throughout their work, whatever their role.

Labour market

Our offices are based in Birmingham, London and Cardiff. According to the ONS Annual Population Survey, 2023, England and Wales, Black, Asian and minority ethnic workers made up 20.2% of the West Midlands workforce, 4.9% of the workforce in Wales and 37.9% in London.

The workforce data for ethnicity reflects that of the ONS data for West Midlands, where most of our staff are based. 20.1% of our workforce (159 staff) are Black, Asian and minority ethnic. We continue to work on areas where data suggests we have more to do to make sure there is diversity at every level in the organisation.

Roles at the SRA

At the end of 2022 we implemented a new pay band structure, replacing the job grades with a new broad banded structure. This approach saw the introduction of job families and job bands as follows:

Job bands:

• administration
• supervisor/professional
• manager/technical
• head of/senior manager/technical specialist
• director.

Job families:

• anti-money laundering
• business support
• compliance
• corporate affairs and communications
• customer services and complaints
• data and insights
• finance
• HR
• information technology
• legal
• project management
• regulatory
• risk.

As a result, our reporting this year will look different to previous years. We are unable to make direct comparisons based on job grades due to this change.

All data is taken as of 31 December 2023. Where data reflects small numbers, we have not reported them in case individuals are identifiable. In some cases, the data in this report has been presented in line with the staffing structure to express key points.

Building a diverse workplace

We believe it is important that we highlight our commitment to EDI from the beginning of a person's interaction and engagement with us. We want to encourage applicants to be individuals who are proud of their diversity, promoting equality of opportunity.

The disclosure of diversity data is voluntary. Each year we ask new staff to add their diversity data to our HR system and existing staff to review and update their data. During 2023, 22.1% of staff did not respond to the exercise, compared to 19.3% in 2022. This reduction in response rates is mainly due to new starters not adding their diversity data. We will work to increase our data capture for future years through focusing on how we can maximise response rates. We will communicate to new staff during their induction why diversity monitoring matters and the positive impacts it can bring.

Recruitment process

During 2023, we continued to embed questions relating to diversity and inclusion as part of our interview process. We demonstrated our commitment to diversity and inclusion to prospective candidates and gave candidates an opportunity to talk about this topic.

In accordance with the targets set in our ethnicity action plan, we worked to have a mixed-ethnicity interview panel for recruitment of leadership roles. We also encouraged the practice of mixed gender and ethnicity panels for other recruitment panels across the business.

We launched an inclusive hiring checklist for managers, providing guidance on inclusive best practice before, during and after the interview. We updated our Recruitment and Selection policy. We also updated our training, which covers best practice on hiring and how to consider reasonable adjustments in the recruitment process.

We continued to provide job application resources. This allows interviewees access to a range of learning materials designed to help candidates to develop skills, insight and confidence before they are assessed at interview. This helps level the playing field for every person invited to interview and continues to get good feedback.

Supporting progression and fulfilling aspirations through learning and development

Personal and professional development remains a key part of our learning and development offering. We continue to support growth and progression for all colleagues through our accredited Leadership Pathway programme.

Our Aspiring Managers programme is for colleagues who are considering career progression into management roles and supports our work to increase representation at senior levels. Following the success of our initial programme the previous year, in 2023, we widened the number of available spaces. Additionally, we gave new delegates the opportunity to gain valuable insights from the previous year's cohort who have subsequently transitioned into management roles.

We also expanded both of our mentoring schemes to target staff from across all our underrepresented groups, with the aim of addressing underrepresentation in our leadership and management population. The scheme ran in conjunction with our external partner, Mission Include. It connects mentees with mentors from around the world.

Additionally, our in-house Reverse Mentoring programme saw more junior members of staff mentor our directors as part of our Advanced Leadership programme. Initially, we targeted Black Asian and minority ethnic colleagues in 2022 and have now expanded this scheme more widely.

Our on-demand diversity and inclusion-related spotlight eLearning modules allow staff to take a closer look at specific topic areas. We took the opportunity to expand our current resources around equality impact assessments.

In September, we launched our 'Understanding barriers to career development' survey to gather staff feedback on career development and identify any obstacles to progression. We used the insights to inform and support our internal talent activities in 2024.

Stonewall Workplace Equality Index

The Stonewall Workplace Equality Index (WEI) is a benchmarking scheme where employers can assess their achievements and progress on lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) equality in the workplace. In 2023, we were delighted to come 11th in their list of the Top 100 LGBT-inclusive employers. Our work was also recognised with a Gold Award for a third consecutive year.

We have learnt a lot from participating in the WEI over the years, as shown by the fact that, when we first entered in 2017, we ranked at 241. As a result, we now feel that we are in a strong position to drive forward in this area without needing to participate in the annual index to validate our progress.

We are committed to continuing our work to support our LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, queer or questioning and people who identify in other ways) colleagues and promote inclusivity across the profession. We are constantly reviewing how we can achieve this through both SRA-run initiatives and our ongoing work with external partners.

Our networks, established and run by staff, continued to share ideas and collaborate on events and initiatives throughout 2023. They each have an internal intranet page to share messages and raise awareness.

Each network has an Executive Team sponsor who takes a keen interest in and supporting its work. We also have Board members who sponsor specific networks.

Highlights from 2023

REACH (Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage) – promotes racial equality and celebrates a diverse staff community

During 2023, the network held monthly meetings to talk about and provide feedback on our ethnicity pay gap and gender pay gap reporting. It made recommendations that the organisation introduce phonetic spelling of names in email signatures. REACH also collaborated with other networks on a series of events and podcasts, supported external EDI events and marked a range of awareness days throughout the year.

The network supported our faith events by sharing information and blogs and holding panel events. It also invited external guests, including authors and Diabetes UK, to speak at its meetings.

NoW – (Network of Women) – promotes gender equality and supports women in our workplace

NoW continued its work to make menopause a mainstream conversation by marking World Menopause Day, hosting an event for staff with an external menopause awareness champion, Lynda Bailey. We invited Lynda back for a TV talk show-style event, with staff joining in person and remotely from across the organisation. Lynda shared her personal story to raise awareness about the menopause and talk about progress made in this space since we first tackled this topic in 2018.

As well as celebrating International Women's Day, NoW also:

• held a careers event led by Executive Team sponsor Liz Rosser
• marked Baby Loss Awareness week
• invited back Gulshen Bano of Strike Back to deliver a self-defence session based on the martial art of Krav Maga, following the success of the previous year's event.

PridePlus – promotes equal opportunities for LGBTQ+ colleagues and provides confidential support

PridePlus is our sexual orientation and gender identity employee network, promoting inclusion for people who are LGBTQ+. The network has an active community page and has provided various activities over the year for its members and wider staff.

PridePlus held a joint event with another regulator inviting activist, author and YouTuber Rowan Ellis to talk about the history of LGBTQ+ rights in Britain. The network also held a webinar on bi-erasure within the LGBTQ+ community, to bring awareness to how bisexual people are often the 'silent majority' in LGBTQ+ spaces.

Staff have continued to enjoy the now established podcasts, diving deeper into various LGBTQ+ identities and covering more topics on 'Queer Debates'. This year, PridePlus participated in the rainbow laces campaign for the first time. It encouraged all staff to pick up a pair of laces and commit to doing 10 things to improve their wellbeing over a month, to celebrate 10 years of the campaign.

The network also celebrated our usual three Pride parades and supported our presence in Birmingham, London and Cardiff, collaborating with law firms and other groups within the legal sector.

Every Body in Mind – promotes positive awareness regarding mental health, wellbeing, and disability access in the SRA

The network relaunched its anonymous question box, providing an opportunity for staff to ask questions or raise any concerns. On the back of one of these queries the network hosted two virtual events around combatting loneliness during the workday and the impact on mental wellbeing.

Wellbeing coffee catch ups were introduced as a chance for colleagues to get together informally with representatives from the Mental Health First Aiders, HR team and our EDI team. This included sharing tips and best practice and suggestions for the ways we work.

Our eight Mental Health First Aiders received full refresher training and Executive Team member Aileen Armstrong also went through Mental Health First Aid training.

Working Parents – for working parents to share ideas, information and support

The Working Parents Network continued to encourage parents to share ideas, information and support. During 2023, the network organised:

• in-person sessions for parents to share experiences and support each other
• raised awareness of key parenting topics through a variety of content
• provided one-to-one support to parents via its buddy scheme.

The network also looked at topics such as how to support parents who have children with physical or mental health conditions and support for LGBTQ+ families, in collaboration with the PridePlus Network.

Well-man Network – a platform and support for discussing and promoting wellbeing issues important to men, their families, friends and colleagues

During 2023, the network ran two virtual events. In March, a colleague shared their story of how they supported their father with post-traumatic stress disorder, following a lengthy career in the armed forces. In October, the network focused on cancer, and three colleagues shared their experiences of how it had impacted them and the lives of others close to them.

Green Living – sharing tips on how to live greener and cleaner

During 2023, the network held various events, including a sunflower growing competition, community litter picking and noted key awareness dates throughout the year. These included Earth Day, National Gardening Week and plastic-free July.

In 2023, our London and Birmingham offices operated on 100% renewable energy tariffs and we have become a paper-light organisation, with consumption down 90%.

The organisation also makes a wider commitment to acting in an environmentally friendly way and is accredited with the ISO140001 Environmental Management System.

Charity Working Group

Our Charity Working Group raised funds for Midland Langar Seva Society (MLSS), a multicultural non-profit organisation. It strives to help those in need around the UK and internationally, regardless of race, religion and background.

As well as raising vital funds, the group also held regular collections of food donations for the charity to use at its street feeds. We supported MLSS until the end of 2024.

Staff faith events

We continued to organise staff faith events during 2023. These encourage staff from all religions and backgrounds to come together and celebrate as one.

SRA Allies

Our SRA Allies program provides staff the opportunity to show support for all colleagues whatever their background. This helps to create an inclusive culture where everyone feels safe and comfortable to be themselves. Allies are essential to providing a work environment where staff can fulfil their potential regardless of their characteristics.

Every year, we select a champion ally whose work in promoting inclusivity across the organisation has stood out in the past 12 months. Our champion ally is recognised for the impact of their actions and their commitment to making the Solicitors Regulation Authority a great place to work.

Rewarding and recognising our staff

We continued to provide a range of staff benefits which reflect our inclusive approach. Our digital platform, the Recognition Hub, supports timely recognition and reward for staff for embodying our behaviours and values. In 2023, 76.0% of staff were rewarded financially via the Recognition Hub.

In addition, we had 2,029 'thank you award' nominations. A total of 311 ecards (such as welcome, congratulations, behaviours and the SRA values) have been sent. The Recognition Hub also includes a Wellbeing centre, where staff can access useful information and resources relating to diet and exercise, financial wellbeing and mental health.