At Blick Rothenberg inclusion and diversity are core to our BRDNA Values and Purpose
We believe that embracing a diverse range of perspectives is not only the right thing to do but also drives our commercial success
By fostering an inclusive and diverse environment, we empower our people, strengthen relationships with our clients and fulfil our commitment to making a positive impact across our communities
Our commitment to inclusion and diversity stems from our European heritage which has shaped our rich and dynamic teams.
Our vision is to enhance diversity across all levels within our organisation by creating a culture that is authentically inclusive.
We strive to create an environment where every individual can thrive, fulfil their potential, and feel a sense of belonging. We want to reflect the communities that we live and work in.
Celebrating individuality and recognising the power of diverse perspectives
Providing equitable opportunities for growth and success
Holding ourselves accountable for making meaningful change together
Hear from some of our people on their experiences of inclusion and diversity at Blick Rothenberg.
Winner – Best Diversity, Equality & Inclusion initiative
International Accounting Awards – 2024
Blick Rothenberg won the ‘Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Initiative of the Year’ award at the Annual International Accounting Forum & Awards.
Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing, Angela Cooke, said
I am proud of everyone involved who made this award win possible – we are working hard to encapsulate what makes Blick Rothenberg different and this accolade is a fantastic recognition for us on that journey.
Everyone has a role in creating a workplace where people want to work.
Through our inclusive leadership development programme and upskilling our People Managers, we are ensuring that all our people have the practical skills to lead inclusively every day.
We are working hard to ensure that our processes, policies and systems are fair and equitable for all by having inclusion and diversity at their very heart.
This includes how we attract, recruit, develop, promote and retain our people.
We listen to and connect with people’s lived experiences to amplify their voices and highlight how we can help them thrive.
We have 4 employee resource groups, all of whom play a pivotal role in promoting a more inclusive culture.
Through these groups, we facilitate open dialogues, foster understanding, and celebrate the diverse perspectives that enrich our firm.
The aim of the BRidge (Blick Rothenberg’s Inclusive Disability Group for Employees) network is to increase awareness and foster wider understanding of the issues affecting those with visible and non-visible disabilities, medical and mental health conditions.
The network intends to positively impact the life experiences of people with disabilities by influencing Blick Rothenberg’s approach to attraction, recruitment and retention. The network is open to all, whether you have a disability, care for someone with a disability or if you simply want to be an ally or learn more.
The network was started in August 2021, and it began as an opportunity for colleagues from Black, Asian and Mixed Ethnicity backgrounds to come together to discuss their lived experiences.
We all have colleagues and friends who come from different backgrounds and cultural heritage. EmBRace has been created to help give our people the confidence to bring their whole selves to work, where together we can celebrate what makes us different and apply our uniqueness to stand out as a service provider to our clients.
Anyone is welcome to join our community. We offer a safe space for open discussions to help improve the quality of our experience both in the workplace and outside.
Blick Rothenberg also marks events like Black History Month.
Blick Rothenberg also marks events like Black History Month. Naomi Lapite talked with Winsome Levy, a sole practitioner barrister at Tupwood Chambers, about her experiences of working in the legal sector.
You can also watch Roxan Savu and Humayra Tanni discuss the significance of the hijab.
Blick Rothenberg’s employee resource group for LGBT+ individuals and those who don’t identify as such but are interested in supporting or learning more.
We work year-round to provide a safe space for our colleagues, create networking opportunities, raising awareness of key issues, and feeding back into the firms wider inclusion and diversity initiatives.
Core to our values is celebrating individuality and fostering a culture of trust and inclusion, whether that be with the colleagues we work with, the clients we act for, or the communities we live amongst. To help us do this, we are members of Stonewall, who support us in delivering our priorities to become an LGBT+ inclusive organisation.
We also work with organisations like Global Butterflies who have helped us become more trans aware and inclusive; and Nexus which connects LGBT+ employee network leaders, sponsors and chairs to share best practice and strategies.
Blick Rothenbergs Women’s Network exists to support the attraction and recruitment of women at all levels of the firm and ensure we are seen as an employer of choice for women.
Gender equality is a critical part of ensuring our long-term sustainable growth.
We also help women establish relationships and build networks through mentoring to support their professional growth and career development within the firm.
The Network also provides input into the firm’s policies regarding their impact on women and, as appropriate, to suggest new or amended policies or practices that would improve the lives of working women in the firm.
Our names are a fundamental part of our identity, and hearing them pronounced correctly fosters a sense of recognition, respect, and belonging.
The emBRace network has championed the ability for individuals to include the phonetic pronunciation of their name in their email signature and website profile.
Our emBRace network has developed guidance to raise awareness of race-based hair discrimination, an issue that disproportionately affects individuals from Black and Mixed Ethnicity backgrounds.
This guidance not only educates our people on the importance of embracing all hair types and styles but also reinforces our ‘dress for your day’ framework, which encourages employees to feel comfortable and confident in their professional appearance.
Around 50% of our workforce will at some point during their lives, and probably while they are still working, experience the peri/menopause.
The Women’s Network has put together some guidance on the topic of the peri/menopause.
The guide contains some practical actions we can all take to become a more peri/menopause confident organisation.
At Blick Rothenberg, some of our people take part in reverse mentoring, where a more junior colleague mentors a senior leader on topics related to inclusion and diversity. This initiative fosters open conversations, broadens perspectives, and helps drive meaningful change across our business.
Hear from Jim and Alma as they share their experiences with reverse mentoring and the impact it has had on creating a more inclusive workplace.
Our Rainbow Network has played a key role in ensuring that our people have the opportunity, if they choose, to include their gender pronouns in their email signatures and website profiles.
This initiative supports greater awareness and inclusivity, making it easier for colleagues and clients to address one another with confidence and respect.
All our people have the choice to wear Pride flag lanyards to demonstrate solidarity and support for people in the LGBT+ community.
Blick Rothenberg is a member of the Business Disability Forum.
The Business Disability Forum is the leading business membership organisation in disability inclusion, working with businesses, Government and disabled people to remove barriers to inclusion.
This membership will give us access to advice, conferences and webinars and resources for People Managers to ensure that Blick Rothenberg becomes a fully inclusive place to work.
We are members of Stonewall, who support us in delivering our priorities to become an LGBT+ inclusive organisation.
We also work with organisations like Global Butterflies who have helped us become more trans aware and inclusive; and Nexus which connects LGBT+ employee network leaders, sponsors and chairs to share best practice and strategies.
Access Accountancy is a profession-wide collaboration established in 2014 on the back of overwhelming evidence that people from that lower socio-economic backgrounds are less likely to be hired in the profession.
Blick Rothenberg is proud to join more than 25 professional services firms dedicated to improving the diversity within the accountancy profession in the UK and empower all to thrive in the sector.
Access Accountancy’s vision is for the accountancy profession to be more representative of the socio-economic demographic of our wider society. It’s mission is to ensure that everyone has an equal chance of accessing, and progressing within the accountancy profession based on merit, not social background.
Access Accountancy provides:
Work placements to students from lower socio-economic backgrounds
Collects and monitors socio-economic data of applicants and hires on an annual basis
Generates interest in the accountancy profession in schools & colleges
Blick Rothenberg’s purpose is to improve the lives of our colleagues, clients and communities in a sustainable way.
To support this Blick Rothenberg runs its own Access Accountancy paid work experience programme twice a year aimed at Year 12 and 13 students.
Understanding the make-up of our organisation enables us to take purposeful action.
Our people are asked to confidentially share information about themselves on our people system.
Data notes:
The total population was 793 people for both diversity questions and social mobility
This was the headcount at the time of running the diversity and social mobility reports for FY25
664 people responded to the diversity questions (84%) and 640 people responded to the social mobility questions (81%)
Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number
We have one female out of a total of 9 people on our Leadership Team
56% of our Heads of Department are female
The ethnic make-up of Blick Rothenberg compared to London and the UK (UK and London data taken from the 2021 Census)
| Blick Rothenberg | London | UK | |
| White British | 56% | 54% | 82% |
| Asian | 25% | 21% | 9% |
| Black | 7% | 13% | 4% |
| Mixed | 6% | 6% | 3% |
| Any other ethnic group | 1% | 6% | 2% |
| Prefer not to say | 6% |
| Ethnicity by grade | As a % of grade of those who have responded |
| Black Asian Mixed Ethnicity Partners | 19% |
| Black Asian Mixed Ethnicity Directors | 13% |
| Black Asian Mixed Ethnicity Senior Managers | 36% |
| Black Asian Mixed Ethnicity Managers/Assistant Managers/Senior Associates | 41% |
| Black Asian Mixed Ethnicity below Manager/Assistant Manager/Senior Associates | 45% |
| No Religion | 38% |
| Christian | 31% |
| Muslim | 10% |
| Prefer not to say | 10% |
| Hindu | 6% |
| Jewish | 2% |
| Sikh | 2% |
| Buddhist | 1% |
| I have another religion or belief | 1% |
| Heterosexual/straight | 85% |
| Prefer not to say | 9% |
| Bisexual/Bi | 3% |
| Gay (man or woman) | 3% |
| Asexual/Ace | 1% |
| Disability | |
| No | 81% |
| Yes | 10% |
| Prefer not to say | 9% |
| Neurodivergent | |
| No | 71% |
| Yes | 4% |
| Prefer not to say | 25% |
| No | 72% |
| Yes | 19% |
| Prefer not to say | 9% |
Based on an 81% response rate to the questions we ask our people about their social background.
Data is for FY25
Social mobility
Free school meals
| Were you eligible for free school meals | |
| No | 56% |
| Not applicable (finished school before 1980 or went to school overseas) | 13% |
| Yes | 12% |
| I don’t know | 8% |
| Prefer not to say | 10% |
Type of school attended between the ages of 11 and 16
| Type of school | |
| A state-run or state-funded school | 59% |
| Attended school outside the UK | 18% |
| Independent or fee-paying school | 15% |
| Independent or fee-paying school, where I received a means tested bursary covering 90% or more of the total cost of attending throughout my time there | 1% |
| Prefer not to say | 7% |
Parental education
| Did either parent attend university and gain a degree | |
| No, neither of my parents attended university | 50% |
| Yes, one or both of my parents attended university | 42% |
| I don’t know | 2% |
| Prefer not to say | 7% |
We know there are times when the pressures of work and life can sometimes feel overwhelming.
At Blick Rothenberg we want to create a nurturing culture and environment that prioritises the wellbeing of all our people.
Our wellbeing strategy focuses on mental, physical and financial wellbeing.
Octopus Money Coaching – all employees are able to have a year of financial coaching through Octopus Money.
Mortgage support through Henry Dannell Mortgage broker.
Mental Health First Aiders who provide support to mental health and wellbeing support on a day to day basis to our people.
Sports clubs, book clubs, volunteering opportunities.
Physical, mental and professional wellbeing support through our partnership with YuLife.
Helping people stay well through our wellbeing re-defined series with physiologist Oli Patrick.
Flexible bank holidays – Bank Holidays are an important part of how we take a break from work and spend time with our loved ones at specific times of the year. People are able to adapt the Bank Holiday schedule to take days off that matter most to them.
Enhanced family policies – we offer 22 weeks full pay, 4 weeks half pay maternity leave, and 4 weeks full pay paternity leave. Our enhanced parental policies are available to those who have been continuously employed by us for at least 26 weeks. We also offer support for people experiencing fertility challenges and pregnancy loss.
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