In July 2012, the InterLaw Diversity Forum, with support from The Law Society and the Bar Council, surveyed almost 2,000 respondents from all strands of diversity and inclusion in the UK legal sector. From this data it published its ground-breaking report Career Progression in the Legal Sector, with a preface from Baroness Patricia Scotland PC QC. The report combined hard data with respondents’ perceptions of their own career progression, as well as their perception of the fairness and transparency of policies and practices in their workplaces.
The goal of the report was to identify the barriers facing these diverse groups and to provide recommendations to address and ultimately solve these issues. The report told us that lawyers from protected classes under the Equalities Act and from disadvantaged backgrounds were working harder and earning less than their straight, white, elite-educated male counterparts. In fact, the more “boxes” they ticked (i.e. intersectionality/multiple identities) with regards to diversity and social mobility, the more pronounced this disadvantage became. We recommended in this report that law firms needed to change their cultures to become more meritocratic by: (i) adopting targets; (ii) changing culture; (iii) training their leaders; and (iv) addressing social mobility.
Since this report we have shifted our focus at the InterLaw Diversity Forum towards intersectionality and widened our scope beyond LGBT+ to encompass all strands of diversity and inclusion. We are updating this research and publishing a new report this year. Our research tells us that diverse women in the legal sector tend to earn less than their white female counterparts (who in turn earn less than their white male counterparts).
Please join us on Wednesday, 5 June at Weil, Gotshal & Manges for a very special meeting of our Race & Ethnicity (BAME) Network in collaboration with our Gender Initiative (a partnership with The Law Society) examining the intersection of gender and race & ethnicity. Our panel will feature BAME women, as well as their allies, to compare and contrast their experiences in the legal profession. What can we learn from the crossroads of gender and race & ethnicity? How can we be better allies to support them?
Speakers:
Date: Wednesday, 5 June 2019
Location: Weil Gotshal & Manges, 110 Fetter Ln, London EC4A 1AY
18:00 Arrival and Registration
18:30 Meeting Starts
20:00 - 21:00 Networking Drinks
Thanks to Weil for generously hosting this event!
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