Our broader inclusion impact in 2025

In 2025, we embarked on an exercise to assess our inclusion programme through a number of third party and external accreditation, assessments and benchmarks. In 2025, our UK business was named in the Top 75 of the Social Mobility Employer Index. This is an annual assessment run by the Social Mobility Foundation, designed to measure how effectively employers are driving social mobility through their practices and removing barriers for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. It evaluates performance across eight key areas, including outreach to schools and young people, recruitment and selection processes, data collection on socio-economic background, progression, retention and pay, and advocacy and leadership.

Launching our new values

In 2025, we marked a significant milestone with the launch of our new Values. They are:

1. We challenge where it matters.
2. We turn expertise into action.
3. We work better together.
4. We act with humanity.
5. We own the outcome.

Our Values articulate the behaviours that define us at our best, capturing what is truly authentic to our culture, while also shining a light on the areas we continue to strengthen. They embody the high standards we set for ourselves, providing clarity and consistency, helping us to distinguish ourselves through the way we work, both with clients and with each other. They enable us to celebrate the principles that unite us as a firm.

Since their introduction, we have been spotlighting each Value in turn highlighting how they connect to our daily work and how they link to our firm-wide and local activities.

Accelerating social mobility impact

Confronting disadvantage head on

We are committed to developing and inspiring people, particularly those facing disadvantage, to be the innovators and leaders of tomorrow. To support these aims, we set up The PA Foundation in 2022 to distribute £10m over five years to support those facing disadvantage across our communities. The Foundation partners with 57 organisations in the UK, US, and Nordics and has supported over 33,000 people to improve their education, skills, and employment outcomes. All of our people can access up to three days of volunteer time, which can be used over the course of the year to support these charitable organisations and PA’s community engagement programme, PA in the Community.

Creating early career opportunities

We deliver an early careers (18-24 years old) digital apprenticeship programme - a three-and-a-half-year degree apprenticeship in Digital and Technology Solutions (software engineering and data science pathways), where our apprentices actively contribute to client delivery after onboarding. In 2025, we extended the programme to our Belfast office. Investing in apprenticeships supports the attraction and recruitment of high potential talent from a wider range of backgrounds into our organisation. This initiative demonstrates our commitment to broadening access to early careers consulting for those without a degree and providing opportunities for disadvantaged or minority groups. We were able to attract over 1300 applications for 14 apprenticeship places in 2025 and expect the same level of demand in 2026.

Building a network of internal champions

In 2025, our newest employee network, the Social Mobility Network spearheaded efforts to benchmark our internal social mobility programme. Whilst we were pleased to be named in the 2025 Social Mobility Index, the exercise helped to pinpoint further improvements for us to make. The network is now working with our leadership team to develop a robust, multi-year Social Mobility strategy. Meanwhile, the network continues to build a supportive community where people can share experiences and advice, and raise awareness and understanding to eliminate stigma and create a more empathetic work environment. It also continues to engage with representatives from other organisations across a range of sector forums.

Partnering for impact

We have an established partnership with Generation Success, a social enterprise that advances social mobility by empowering young people from all backgrounds to reach their career aspirations. As of 2025, more than 300 PA people have become mentors to young people from underrepresented groups, and we offered our first permanent role to a graduate of the programme.

Delivering social value with our clients

Purpose-driven growth and corporate responsibility

We recognise the importance of driving meaningful social impact alongside business success. We are committed to embedding social value into our work – partnering with clients, communities, and stakeholders, across the public, private, or third sector to create sustainable, inclusive, and lasting change.

Advancing inclusion through social value

In 2025, we continued to drive inclusion through social value commitments in partnership with our clients. This includes supporting a leading charity for domestic abuse survivors in defining requirements for their new case management system. It also includes partnering with a client to improve the inclusion of women in technology roles, working across a number of sectors to successfully reintegrate those leaving the criminal justice system, and delivering skills-based training programmes with a naval charity to equip homeless individuals with essential skills and support.

Protecting our people from harassment

Following changes to UK law in 2024 that increases the responsibilities of employers, in 2025, we took meaningful steps to strengthen our approach to preventing sexual harassment. We updated our global guidance, refreshed training for all employees, and reinforced our zero-tolerance stance through clearer policies and leadership oversight. Prevention became a formal part of our risk governance, and we worked closely with our employee networks to ensure our approach reflected diverse perspectives.

In 2026, we’re building on this foundation to meet new legal standards and raise the bar across our business. Our focus includes enhancing manager capability, embedding prevention into more of our policies and processes, and working with clients, suppliers, and partners to uphold consistent expectations. These efforts reflect our continued commitment to a respectful, inclusive workplace for all.