Burness Paull becomes the first law firm to sign up to the Pathways Pledge

Burness Paull has become the first law firm to sign up to the Pathways Pledge, an initiative created by Pathways Forward in response to the findings of the Scottish Government-commissioned Pathways: A New Approach for Women in Entrepreneurship report aimed at dramatically raising the participation level of women in the entrepreneurial economy.

Alongside cohort members FWB, Investing Women Angels, and Cazenove Capital the firm has committed to two pledges to drive forward positive change for female colleagues across our business. This group represent the sixth cohort to date, which now totals 36 members from a range of sectors and industries. 

Following feedback gathered through a survey of our female partners, we have formed our pledges to directly address some of the barriers raised around supporting career development and traditional cultural and procedural norms not in keeping with the way we work now.

Our pledges centre around a commitment to improving equal access to work, business development opportunities and career progression for female colleagues and to ensuring those who make positive contributions to our firm culture are recognised for this.

These pledges further enhance significant work already carried out or underway, for example enhanced support on returning to work after maternity leave and initiatives to address perceived and unconscious bias. The firm has also implemented a collaboration system to encourage positive and inclusive behaviours amongst partners, setting a precedent for how we expect all our colleagues to operate.

Peter Lawson, chair at Burness Paull said: “We are proud to be the first law firm to sign up to the Pathways Pledge and I’m looking forward to our participation in the programme. It provides a solid framework to amplify the work we’re doing to support the progression of our female talent and holds us accountable for continuing to take meaningful action to ensure equal opportunities for all. This is a hugely positive initiative that will directly impact the future of the firm, enabling the best leaders of tomorrow to succeed, regardless of gender.” 

Pathways founder Ana Stewart, who is the Scottish Government’s Chief Entrepreneur and a partner at investment firm Eos, said: “We are excited to welcome our latest cohort and follow their progress over the next twelve months. It’s great to see so many organisations collaborating to drive impact and to shift the dial for women in business. Having a UK law firm like Burness Paull demonstrate such commitment to championing change throughout their organisation and sharing their progress and learnings with others to in turn accelerate further positive change perfectly captures the purpose of the Pathways Pledge initiative and the power of collective impact. I’m delighted to have them as part of the Pathways community.”

Now into its third year, Pathways Forward recently held its second annual Female Founders Growth Summit, with 300 founders and investors in attendance including some of the UK’s fastest growing scaleups. Burness Paull was proud to support this event as part of a wider commitment to championing female progression across the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

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