Womble Bond Dickinson, the transatlantic law firm with a major office in Bristol, is among the first UK law firms to be recognised in a new certification scheme for its approach to gender equality and diversity.
Launched by the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF), the gold standard champions firms with 100 or more lawyers that meet a minimum of three out of five criteria measuring the number of women at equity partner level, their compensation, diversity and involvement in governance committees. 
Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD), which employs more than 230 people in its Bristol office, is one of the first nine UK firms to achieve the standard and the only one with a presence in Bristol and the South West.
Partner and board sponsor for diversity and inclusion Tracy Walsh said: “It is so important for us as a large firm to have women in positions where they can be recognised as role models for our female leaders, current and future.
“It is encouraging to be recognised by WILEF in its first year of gold standard certification for UK law firms but we are fully aware that there is still plenty of work to be done.
“We want to make faster progress towards having more women in the rooms where decisions are made, and the way we now approach promotions around the business or select talented people for leadership programmes are just two examples of how we are looking to change the narrative and create more opportunities for women within our firm.”
WBD’s Bristol base is the second largest of its eight UK offices. The firm also has 19 offices in the US.
WILEF is the leading organisation dedicated to aiding women in the largest law firms and corporate law departments advance their careers through empowerment and leadership. The other firms to gain the UK gold standard accreditation are Allen & Overy, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells International, Latham & Watkins, Mayer Brown, Reed Smith, Sidley Austin
and Watson Farley & Williams.
