THORNTONS CONTINUES TO TACKLE THE GENDER PAY GAP

Leading Scottish law firm Thorntons Solicitors continues to make progress on workplace
gender equality, with the mean hourly pay gap between men and women narrowing by
13.6%.
The firm, which now has 566 people including 70 partners, published its annual gender pay
report today, covering the snapshot date of 5 April 2021.
The report outlined the firm’s commitment to promoting equality and diversity across the
business and showcased an improving picture.
There was a mean hourly pay gap for employees of 16.11% – down from 29.66% in 2017 –
and a median hourly pay gap for employees of 19.34% which is down from 37.2% in 2017.
The gender balance of roles across the firm’s pay quartiles also improved and it retained its
50/50 gender split for its leadership team.
The report detailed the numerous steps being taken by the firm to promote equality and
diversity across the business, including introducing unconscious bias training for the firm’s
decision makers. 
Other measures included the creation of an equality, diversity and inclusion focus group and
continued development of its promotions board to include career guidance, mentoring and
coaching.
Managing partner Lesley Larg said: “We’re proud of the progress we are making towards
reducing the firm’s gender pay gap which is a historic feature of the formerly male-
dominated legal sector.
We’re pleased to see the gender balance of roles across the various quartiles of the business
has improved and we are confident men and women in the firm are being paid equally for
doing equivalent jobs. It’s telling that our most recent trio of internal partner promotions
were all women, and our leadership team has maintained gender parity.”
She added: “Having said that, we still have much work to do. Like many other businesses we
are dealing with complex, societal issues that won’t be solved overnight. Most of our
colleagues who carry out administrative roles within the firm are women, and as these roles
are generally paid less across most industries, this is a substantial contributor to our pay
gap.
We’re working hard to attract a diverse range of job applicants to reduce occupational
segregation and develop women in our work force to reach our highest paid roles. We’re
starting to see these measures make a difference and we are hopeful for the future.”
In an affirmation of its commitment, the firm has escalated equality and diversity to become
a foundation of its five-year strategy. A member of the firm’s board has been appointed as
an equality lead and will be responsible for implementing the Law Society of Scotland’s
Equality Standards as well as monitoring progress.
Aimee Gibbons (pictured above), commercial real estate partner, started at Thorntons as a
trainee solicitor in the commercial property team nine years ago. At 31 years old, she is one
of the firm’s youngest partners with a key role in leading the firm’s Glasgow operation.