Quotas – Good or bad?

We were very interested to see the announcement recently from Ashurst, which has become the first leading UK law firm to introduce a quota for the number of women it wants to employ in management positions. As our job is to source the best talent in the profession all the time, we are always keen to see the latest thinking behind employment trends, and the debate over diversity keeps raising its head.

Ashurst has made a bold move in its attempt to tackle the balance of the genders. It is good to see that someone has at last begun to take some real action even though the idea of quotas is deeply unfashionable. However, Ashurst has set itself a difficult task. It’s all well and good having targets but the really credible thinking about diversity suggests that you can’t get away from servicing the fundamental demands of the business which means always getting the best person for the job. And for that matter, there are a lot of women who wouldn’t want a promotion on the basis of their gender but rather for their competence.

So perhaps the real work needs to be done on the pathway to partnership, making sure that high calibre women actually get to the point where they can take advantage of opportunities.

Let us know what you think. Do you think quotas are a good or bad idea?