Implicit Bias

EDI SUB-COMMITTEE

Implicit Bias

Graduate recruitment campaign, ‘You + Us’. Client: BNP Paribas Americas..

The EDI Committee has been involved in two projects in recent months. First, the Committee contributed comments to the Judicial College on the Equal Treatment Bench Book used by judges and many practitioners. Second, its members are contributing to the work of the International Women in Law group of the national Law Society. The aim is to build profiles of the position of women in jurisdictions around the world for the purpose of meaningful comparisons. The profiles will be available to any law firm working in the relevant jurisdiction.

The committee is also committed to sharing regular EDI initiatives through this magazine and social media. This article deals with implicit bias, sometimes called unconscious bias. Many of us will have completed some training through work or may have tried the Harvard test, if not, it is accessible to anyone online https://dib.harvard.edu/implicit-association-test-iat.

The test and any training is aimed at making people aware that they hold beliefs which they do not explicitly refer to or even know that they hold. These beliefs can have strong influence on our day to day actions and affect important decisions such as recruitment. This is the reason for blind recruitment although this can only go so far when recruiting for a legal job, perhaps initial shortlisting. However, it is clear from the centenary roundtables held by the then President Christina Blacklaws, that gender can be regarded negatively when considering senior positions, particularly partnership. There is similar evidence relating to characteristics relating to race, religion, sexuality and other protected characteristics.

Some law firms are turning for help to companies such as, Improper Agency, which has been working with law organisations to provide powerful images which challenge our biases, conscious or not which can help create cultural change. Leonora Saunders and Kathryn Nawrockyi have worked independently across the sector on the representation of women and other groups less represented in the law.

Leonora Saunders created The Athena Project, sponsored by CMS Cameron McKenna, which celebrates women leaders in the legal profession, business and politics. She also worked with the Law Society over three years to create the Social Mobility Ambassador Campaign and is a champion of the First 100 Years project, working towards a strong and equal future for all women in the legal profession. Kathryn Nawrockyi, former Director of Gender Equality at Business in the Community, led research into women’s experiences in the workplace with Project 28-40, including a deep dive legal sector project. Since 2017 she has worked with Hogan Lovells to design and deliver Project Respect, a ground-breaking anti-bullying and harassment project. Understanding the challenges posed by bias and structural inequality, Improper bring creativity, visuals and powerful aesthetics to facilitate conversations and make progress. The examples of their work show the way they challenge the legal world and its traditional approach. ■

The EDI committee welcomes new members. Please contact me for a discussion corahill@btinternet.com.

Coral Hill

Chair EDI Committee

Photographs reproduced courtesy of Improper Agency.

Top: Dorian Fuller, Vice President, Head of Diversity Recruitment at BNP Paribas.

Top: Portrait of Emma and Kate Whalley Hands from the Same But Different exhibition commissioned by Business in the Community. The series focused on intersectionality and the differing experiences of working women and was launched by Sadiq Khan at City Hall.