Stephenson Harwood recognised for social mobility efforts

The firm has been ranked 45th in the Social Mobility Foundation’s Social Mobility Employer Index 2025, marking the third consecutive year of recognition as a top 75 employer.

The index evaluates organisations on their efforts to enhance social mobility by measuring progress across several key areas: Pre-18 outreach and work with young people; attraction and post-18 outreach; recruitment and selection; routes into the employer; data collection; pay, progression and retention; culture and internal advocacy; and external advocacy.

Feedback from the Social Mobility Foundation commended the collection and analysis of the firm’s socio-economic data. Stephenson Harwood recently published our socio-economic pay gap data for the first time, and this was recognised as setting a high standard for other employers.

In response to recommendations from the 2024 Employer Index report, we have prioritised the expansion of our pre-18 outreach support, ensuring we are engaging with young people across the key stages of their development.

With 2026 being announced as the National Year of Reading, this autumn we have joined forces with the charity Chapter One to provide reading support to children at the stage they need it the most. 38% of 11 year olds in England from disadvantaged backgrounds are unable to read to the expected standard, which can affect their educational attainment and employment opportunities later in life. Thanks to volunteers across the firm, we are supporting 10 pupils in a primary school based in Middlesbrough.

We also launched a partnership with a mixed non-selective state school in Newham. The school is for students aged 11 to 16 and has over 850 students, many of whom are eligible for free school meals. As part of our partnership, we have provided mentors to year 10 students looking for guidance on A-level choices, career planning, goal setting and confidence building.

In summer 2025 we invited our largest cohort of students to our Bright Sparks work experience week, aimed at year 12 students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Delivered in partnership with PRIME, the programme includes workshops on building commercial awareness, understanding how a law firm works, as well as interview practice.

To learn more about what we do to promote social mobility within the firm, including our efforts to ensure the attraction, recruitment and progression of those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, please click here.