Ashurst signs up to disability inclusion campaign The Valuable 500

The campaign, launched at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Summit in Davos in January, will hold global business leaders accountable for disability inclusion in their businesses by ensuring it is discussed at leadership and board level.

Caroline Casey, founder of The Valuable 500, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Ashurst to The Valuable 500. Businesses cannot be truly inclusive if disability does not feature on the leadership agenda so it is encouraging to see that Ashurst has taken a definitive stand on embracing inclusion and diversity at the highest level."

Ben Tidswell, Chairman of Ashurst, commented: 

"We are proud to be joining The Valuable 500 as part of our wider commitment to diversity and inclusion. Creating a level playing field for all partners and staff living with disabilities through supportive polices, by raising awareness and understanding and by ensuring access to appropriate resources is essential. Fostering a diverse and inclusive culture is a core part of our business and this plays a key role in generating different ideas and perspectives which in turn helps us to innovate and improve client service. There is much more we want to do to drive change and The Valuable 500 Campaign is a key part of that."

Ashurst's Valuable 500 Commitment is to:

• Table disability on the board agenda on a regular basis.
• Reduce the stigma around the discussion of disabilities by showcasing the lived experiences of partners and staff in relation to disability and resilience.
• Improve the reasonable adjustments process by introducing a global Workplace Adjustments Passport.

The firm has an active disability and resilience employee support network and is a member of the Business Disability Forum in the UK and the Australian Network on Disability. The firm is working with Scope, a UK disability charity, to deliver training and raise awareness and is a signatory to the #WorkWithMe pledge and is also participating in Able Magazine's 'Be the Difference' employer.