10/13/2014 10:17:54 AM | less than a minute read

The right approach to equality in the workplace

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Tom Elgar

Co-founder

Get in touch

Tom Elgar

Co-founder

Just as Microsoft's CEO, swan-dived, face-first, into the lions' den with some ill-judged and slightly disturbing comments about women's pay, here comes Mishcon de Reya's Kevin Gold with a thoroughly enlightened response to the same issue:

Their staff can "work anywhere they want and take unlimited holidays, as long as it doesn’t affect their clients."

It puts a refreshing spin on the idea of stuffy old law firms and "down with the kids" tech companies, and helpfully positions Mischon as a forward-thinking firm.

Many might not share his surprise at the scheme’s popularity which, he claims, stemmed from wanting to foster a better gender balance in the firm. Worried that the high number of female trainees and associates were not translating into a balanced partnership, the firm set out to make work more flexible for new mothers. “More women than men are coming into the law and when women have a baby they take a break out of the profession and often feel it’s difficult to come back in,” says Gold. ”They might not be able to commit all their time in the office and I think people often feel a loss of confidence."

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