Despite the perception that women to not receive equal footing in the workplace, especially in the legal profession, a number of firms have clearly gone that extra mile to keep the fairer sex happy.

In The Times ’s Top 50 ‘Where Women Want to Work’ ranking Clifford Chance, Herbert Smith, Addleshaw Goddard and Eversheds have been recognised as top places to work for women.

Other non-legal professional services firms that impressed the ladies included KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte and Ernst & Young…

The rankings have now been going for three years. In that time Addleshaws has made the rankings in all three years, with CC and Eversheds making the grade in 2007 and 2008. Herbert Smith’s inclusion marks a first for them.

All of the firms have made specific attempts to introduce female-friendly schemes in the workplace. Herbert Smith launched a women’s network in January 2007, while Clifford Chance has introduced maternity coaching to help deal with both the handover of work before maternity leave and the return to work. Addleshaws was commended for its schemes, which include support for pregnant lawyers and new parents.

The survey considered organisations with more than 1,000 employees and addressed three main areas: recruitment, retention and development of female employees, and examples of successful female role models.

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