Equality Diversity and Inclusion Sub-committee

SUB-COMMITTEES

Equality Diversity and Inclusion Sub-committee

Lubna Shuja

The return of in-person events meant that the centenary in December 2022 of women entering the profession was celebrated in-person by numerous groups, including Next 100 Years, Legal Women and The Law Society of England and Wales.

Lubna Shuja, President of the Law Society, spoke about the challenges that faced women over the last 100 years and how things have changed. There were excellent stories of women who have blazed a trail in our profession over the years but with recognition of how much more work needs to be done to achieve true parity. Currently, despite over 60% of the profession being women, only 35% of law firm partners are women: a mere 0.3% advance in a decade.

This shows that further initiatives are welcome both by those entering the profession but also by the employers who want to retain staff. Ensuring there are role models, accessing mentoring schemes and introducing sponsorship programmes can all help. Practical changes and policies need to be introduced and followed up within law firms to ensure tangible results. There are easy solutions to this, for example, setting up a women’s network at your firm, joining an external network or joining the Law Society’s Women in Law Pledge.

The Women in Law pledge, launched in partnership with the Bar Council of England and Wales and the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) in June 2019 was created to bring gender equality to the forefront of the conversation.

There is a role for everyone within the legal profession to enact positive change for equality and we encourage all legal service providers, in-house teams and individuals to sign up. You can sign up to the pledge committing to setting high level targets to make a difference for gender equality either within your organisation, or as an advocate, and champion, for change.

What will the pledge do?

By signing up for the pledge, you or your organisation is committing to:

1. supporting the progression of women into senior roles in the profession by focusing on retention and promotion opportunities.

2. setting clear plans and targets around gender equality and diversity for your organisation.

Women in Law Pledge | The Law Society

These do not have to be policies or practices you currently have in place but should include those that you wish to implement. There is a lot of guidance on the website and assistance over the phone. Once you are signed up as an organisation there is support.

www.lawsociety.org.uk/campaigns/women-in-leadership-inlaw/tools/the-women-in-law-pledge

Equality benefits us all; societies with greater gender equality are more connected, people are healthier, have better wellbeing and increased GDP. International Women’s Day will be marked by the committee and we will notify members once we have confirmed the details.

If anyone is interested in joining the EDI Committee please contact Coral@LegalWomen.org.UK