Walker Morris launches internal community, 'Fusion', championing diversity and individuality.

Our vision is to increase the diversity of our workforce, provide opportunity for all, and make everyone feel they can be their whole selves at work.

Some of our recent achievements working towards this include:

1. Appointing a dedicated D&I Manager, Jess Harvey, to lead our inclusivity and diversity strategy and improve representation within the workforce.
2. Becoming a founding member of Stronger Together, a network aimed at raising the profile of racial diversity, inclusion, and equality in the professional services sector in the Leeds City Region.
3. Winner of Best Sustaining Culture at the International Management Excellence Awards in 2023.
4. Nominated for Legal 500 Northern Powerhouse Awards: Diversity & Inclusion initiative of the year in 2023.
5. Delivering a tailored in person D&I training session, which was mandatory for all staff in 2023.
6. Introducing contextual recruitment software to focus on skills over educational achievement for our 2025 intake of trainee solicitors.
7. Signing up to the Model Diversity Survey (MDS) for clients. The MDS is a large internal data collection exercise we undertake annually to measure how diverse the firm is across all levels.

We launched Fusion during our Race Equality Week celebrations, underscoring our commitment to addressing race inequality and fostering an inclusive environment all year round. Fusion will give our people a place to meet like-minded people, create fun events, and raise awareness.

Fusion is hitting the ground running with participation in the Race Equality Matters’ #MyNameIs campaign, where we’ve introduced phonetic spelling in email signatures to ensure correct name pronunciation. During Ramadan, they’re also partnering with Leeds-based charity ‘Give A Gift’, encouraging our people to donate their lunch cost or provide food/toiletries for care packages, reflecting the Ramadan charitable donations Fitrana or Zakat ul Fitr.

Jeanette Burgess, Head of Regulatory who leads on our D&I initiatives, shares: “Delivering diversity and inclusion is fundamental to our business. The unique perspectives and innovative ideas that come from a truly inclusive workforce are what drive us forward. Race Equality Week reminds us of the work that still lies ahead, and we’re ready to tackle it head-on with the launch of Fusion.”

For more information on Walker Morris and our commitment to diversity and inclusion, click here to read our Positive Impact Report.