The Law Society Report

REPORT

The Law Society Report

Many organisations within the legal profession already have commitments to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and recognise the importance of integrating it into their business. The moral case for EDI, alongside the legal requirements of the Equality Act 2010, may be sufficiently compelling for some, but a clear understanding of the value diversity and inclusion can bring is more likely to lead to EDI becoming a strategic priority, embedded into organisational practices and culture.

Over the last few months, The Law Society has produced a number of reports and toolkits to assist our members achieve their ambitions for EDI.

Race for inclusion: the experiences of Black, Asian and minority ethnic solicitors – December 2020

During 2020 we undertook research to understand the experiences of Black and ethnic minority solicitors at different points in their careers.

Key findings of the report:

■ Many organisations are doing work around workforce diversity, but change is coming too slowly or not at all in many areas, and more needs to be done

■ Focusing just on overall representation in the profession can be misleading, and a more nuanced perspective is needed looking at the experiences of different ethnic groups, across different parts of the profession. Not all groups are faring equally well

■ There are specific barriers to entry to the profession for some Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups including a lack of role models and connections in the profession

■ The culture of law firms, particularly larger city firms, is not felt to be inclusive

■ Almost all participants in the research had experienced some level of microaggression based on their ethnicity, including comments about their name or about their presumed culture. It is considered difficult to raise the topic of racism and racial disparities in the workplace

■ Black, Asian and ethnic minority solicitors report lower levels of workplace wellbeing compared to White solicitors. The feeling of having no voice has led many to struggle with their mental health, paying for counselling or taking a break from the profession

■ Retention rates for Black, Asian and ethnic minority solicitors are lower in larger City firms than for their White peers, with many leaving to join smaller firms, or parts of the legal sector that are seen as being more inclusive, such as in-house legal departments

■ Black, Asian and minority ethnic solicitors see slower career development up to and including partner status, again impacting on retention rates, and there is a significant ethnicity pay gap

■ Representation at partner level is poor, particularly in the larger City firms. This has not improved significantly over the years, despite improvements in representation at junior levels

While some progress has been achieved in improving racial diversity, there is still a long way to go to build a profession that is truly, and equally, diverse. We have produced toolkit (www. lawsociety.org.uk/topics/hr-and-people-management/ promoting-race-inclusivity-in-the-workplace-a-toolkit-forfirms) to assist our members in getting started in this area.

Practical toolkit for women in law

On International Women’s Day, we published a new toolkit (https://tlsprdsitecore.azureedge.net/-/media/files/topics/ research/practical-toolkit-for-women-in-law-12-march-2021. pdf?rev=2a0e3aa45f0b4f6c9e815798959ce1d4&has =EE0BE55FE384033B9450EB2EBB9563BC) with Bates Wells that shows there's still much further to go to achieve gender equality for women lawyers globally.

The report follows our June 2019 report (www.lawsociety.org. uk/topics/research/international-women-in-law-report) on gender equality, and:

■ reinforces the findings of the 2019 report that there are still considerable challenges for women’s progression in the legal profession

■ suggests a series of activities that can help strengthen the work of organisations to support women in the law

The toolkit gives practical advice on how to set up new gender equality initiatives, including:

■ making a modest start

■ drawing from the experiences of other women’s groups or chapters within bar associations

■ using free resources

■ finding champions

■ thinking long term

International Women’s Day 2021 – Podcast

As part of our programme of events to mark International Women’s Day, Law Society Chief Executive Paul Tennant spoke to our Vice President I. Stephanie Boyce and Managing Director at Thomson Reuters, Lucinda Case, about gender equality in the legal profession.

On the podcast (www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/womenlawyers/international-womens-day-2021) they discuss:

■ whether unconscious bias is still one of the most pervasive barriers to gender equality in the legal profession

■ the positive steps being taken by firms and organisations to tackle this

■ what more needs to be done in order to retain the best female talent at senior levels

■ the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on women in the law

■ what other male champions for change can do to remove the barriers to gender equality in the legal profession

■ why those in leadership roles need to be proactive in advocating for change.

The above are just a few examples of the resources we have made available to assist our members in meeting either EDI commitments. If you have not done so already, please sign up for a My LawSociety account where you can register your interest in areas of our work to ensure you receive the latest news, advice, practice notes and jobs relevant to your professional interests. ■

Bhavni Fowler

Bhavni Fowler

Key Account Manager

The Law Society