Bath-headquartered law firm Royds Withy King has been named second among the UK top 100 law firms for its gender diversity.
Some 64% of the firm’s 213 lawyers are female – a percentage that has put it in second place after national firm Irwin Mitchell in ‘UK 200: Top 100’ report for 2019 by The Lawyer magazine. 
Royds Withy King has also been ranked 9th in the same report for the gender diversity of its equity partnership – 33% of equity partners are female – and 26th for partnership gender diversity – 34% female partners overall.
The firm has set itself a target of achieving 40% women equity partners by 2025.
Royds Withy King managing partner Graham Street said: “We are pleased to be recognised for our work in this area as part of our wider commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion (ED&I).
“Earlier this month, we announced the appointment of Bharat Nahar as our first ED&I board partner. He will champion our ED&I commitment to ensure that equal opportunities and inclusivity are completely embedded within our culture and reflect the make-up of our communities.” 
Royds Withy King HR director Amanda Dow, pictured, added: “We are continually looking at our gender balance to make sure that both men and women feel they have access to the same opportunities, whether that is in business support roles or in senior legal positions.
“We have recently re-launched our flexible working policy to ensure a fairer and more consistent approach while investing in a robust learning and development curriculum, mentoring partnerships and our staff-run gender equality network.”
Royds Withy King, which was also crowned Best Managed Firm at the 2019 Managing Partners’ Forum Awards, is employs 516 people and offers a comprehensive range of legal services to businesses and private individuals from its principal offices in Bath, London, Oxford, Swindon and Marlborough.
