PRISM - Pride at Slaughter and May

PRISM, our LGBT+ and allies network, was established in 2009. We are open to everyone at the firm and have members from all levels across the firm and from a variety of backgrounds.


The PRISM network aims to support members of our LGBT+ community in being their authentic selves. We collaborate with our other internal networks to host events such as our recent talk with Matthew Todd, author of Straight Jacket, which we co-hosted with Thrive, our mental health and wellbeing network.

We meet regularly to discuss ongoing initiatives and invite everyone across the firm to our evening events at various locations in the City. We also foster links with the firm’s clients and prospective clients and their LGBT+ networks. We work closely with colleagues at our Best Friends firms, and are also involved in graduate recruitment and student mentoring initiatives such as DiversCity.

PRISM has helped the firm ascend the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index and our people have appeared in the OUTstanding LGBT Executives, Future Leaders and Ally Leaders lists. We are committed to making further progress as a diverse and inclusive workplace.

PRISM also participates in the Interlaw Diversity Forum, the inter-organisational LGBT network for the legal sector, including hosting and attending monthly meetings. We hosted the Interlaw Anniversary Party numerous times, raising funds for a number of LGBT+ charities, including Stonewall and The Albert Kennedy Trust.

For further information or any queries please contact us.

Life at the Intersection

On 16 December 2020, PRISM and Vodafone’s LGBT+ Friends Network jointly hosted a virtual panel discussion, chaired by Emma Smith from Vodafone, about what it is like to live at the intersection of being an LGBTQ+ person and a person of faith.

The event, the first in PRISM’s Life at the Intersection series, was supported by Slaughter and May’s Muslim Network and Jewish network, J-Net. The panel was made up of Nour Shaker Fayad, Dalia Fleming (from KeshetUK), and a representative from Hidayah, with remarks from Nilufer von Bismarck and Ewan Brown. Over 285 people from across Slaughter and May and Vodafone tuned in to listen to the panellists share their stories and experiences of living at the intersection of different, often marginalised, identities.

The importance of events such as this, and the work of organisations such as KeshetUK and Hidayah, was captured by our panellist from Hidayah, who said:

I really struggled growing up because I didn’t see anyone similar to myself, so having someone who has had a similar lived experience is validating. Having that safe space where I can talk openly about my sexuality and my faith is important to me. That’s what Hidayah does; we are an adopted family. I’m not out to my own family, but I know that I have another family that will not judge me and who love me unconditionally. Panellist from Hidayah

Pride 2020

To celebrate Pride Month, PRISM, our LGBT+ Network has put together the following video to show what Pride means to our LGBT+ colleagues and allies. Pride commemorates the anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 1969, which acted as the catalyst for the modern LGBT+ rights movement.

In light of current anti-racism demonstrations, Pride also serves as an opportunity to emphasise that the fight against discrimination is our collective, ongoing responsibility in the push for equality in the UK and throughout the world.

DiversCity

Slaughter and May is one of the organisers of, and participates in, the DiversCity initiative, which is an unique annual recruitment event and mentoring programme aimed at raising awareness of pursuing a legal career in the City amongst lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) students at degree and postgraduate level.

Each year, members of PRISM participate in the DiversCity event or act as mentors to LGBT+ students. Mentors meet with their mentees regularly over the course of the year, answering questions about life in a City law firm, the applications process, and the experience of being LGBT+ in the City.

If you would like more information on this event and how to apply, see the DiversCity Website.

Best Friends LGBT Initiative

In June 2016, Slaughter and May hosted the inaugural meeting of the Best Friends LGBT Initiative, which brought together LGBT staff and allies from some of our Best Friend firms to share best practice and consider how the attendees, as individuals and as part of their firms’ networks, can develop LGBT inclusion in their respective firms.

The event included roundtable discussions and a session on LGBT role models and allies, led by Stonewall. This was followed by dinner and drinks on our terrace to facilitate further discussion and networking between the PRISM network and our Best Friends.

Since then, there have been further meetings in Paris (2017), Berlin (2018) and Madrid (2019), and regular catch-up calls and informal discussions to discuss progress and share ideas for further development.