EY bolsters UK partnership with 65 new equity Partners

• This includes 26% female and 19% ethnic minority Partners

EY is strengthening its UK partnership with the appointment of 65 new equity Partners from 1 July 2019 (the start of its financial year) to 3 October 2020. The appointments consist of 26% women and 19% ethnic minority Partners. This includes 25 Partner promotions from within EY, reinforcing the firm’s commitment to nurturing homegrown talent, and 40 external hires. The appointments are closely in-line with last year’s intake of 57 equity Partners.

Over 20% of the new Partner appointments this year were based outside of London, reflecting ongoing investment in EY’s regional business. EY has also strengthened its sector expertise, with notable Partner appointments made in the Energy, Government and Real Estate, and TMT sectors.

In 2019, EY set itself new ambitious targets to double the proportion of female and ethnic minority Partners in its UK business to 40% female and 20% respectively by July 2025 as part of the firm’s new strategy to accelerate its progress on Diversity and Inclusiveness (D&I). In addition to these commitments, in July this year, EY set an additional target for 15% of its ethnic minority target to be Black Partners by 2025. As of 3 October 2020, EY’s UK partnership stands at 23% female and 12% ethnic minority (3% of ethnic minority Partners are Black) – up from 22% and 11% respectively since 2019.

Hywel Ball, EY UK Chair, said: “Congratulations to our new UK equity Partners who have worked exceptionally hard to achieve this career milestone. I know they will bring valuable insights to our clients as they navigate the ongoing uncertainty and prepare for future growth. I’m also really proud that we’ve continued to invest in top talent, despite the more challenging economic backdrop. Investment in EY’s future is not limited to these Partner appointments, with 1000 graduates and apprentices starting at EY last month.”

Continuing Hywel added: “We continue to see progress in the diversity of our partnership, but we know there is more to do which is why we set new diversity targets last year and announced new commitments on black representation in July. Diversity is a top priority for me, and we are taking action to improve representation at every level of the firm. For example, this year 43% of our student intake is female and 40% ethnic minority, up from 39% and 38% respectively last year.”