If you’re anything like me and have been desperately trawling through law firm brochures in a
hopeless attempt to differentiate between them (spoiler alert: they’re basically all the same),
then you’ve certainly come across these three little words. Branded across pages in fancy
calligraphy, all law firms now seem to have a section dedicated to boasting just how ‘diverse’
and ‘inclusive’ they are.
But what does this mean exactly? Are they just phrases to tick off HR’s checklist? And more
importantly – what exactly is diversity and inclusion? Is it for women? Are men at a
disadvantage? Is it for people of colour? Do these policies discriminate against white people?
All of these are very valid questions – diversity and inclusion is shrouded in mystery and often
people are too scared to ask what they really mean in fear of being branded as ignorant. No
fear! Here is a handy guide for all you need to know so you don’t have to be that person at the
law fair awkwardly umming and ahhing at the HR person.
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Sienna HewavidanaTCLA Writer
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Title Author
What is diversity and inclusion (D&I)?
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Introduction
Having D&I policies essentially means that law firms have publicly committed to promote and
improve opportunities for people in the legal profession regardless of their background. This
mostly translates as aiming to recruit and retain those who are not represented in the law
profession (such as people of colour, LGBT+ people and disabled people). However, there are
numerous ways in which diversity and inclusion can be incorporated within a firm: such as
through inclusion networks, the publishing of a diversity profile and publishing annual reports to
monitor success.
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Title Author
Who does it apply to?
(D&I)?
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Introduction
D&I policies apply to those who are not typically represented in the legal profession. Have a
look at the partners (or even associates) in any law firm and take three guesses as to what they
look like. Yep, that’s right: almost certainly male, white and straight. Law has traditionally been
an old boy’s club – particularly for barristers – and it’s no surprise that women, ethnic minorities,
LGBT+ people and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds can hardly get a foot in the
door. It’s a valid question to ask why this is though, and although there isn’t one singular
answer, the idea of structural barriers can help us understand why.
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Title Author
What are these structural barriers?
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Research has found that masculine working patterns (having to work until the early morning isn’t
ideal for parents – especially mothers) and bias against ethnic minorities are two of the biggest
structural impediments that face lawyers. Gender bias means that female solicitors still experience an income gap, are less likely to make partnership and exit the profession earlier
than their male counterparts. For BAME lawyers, a real problem has been the ‘cultural values’
that law firms promote. To put this in simpler terms – law firms often recruit on the basis of a
‘high value’, ‘elite’ image which their solicitors are supposed to embody. Entering the hallowed
ground of elite law firms (read: magic circle) is contingent on mastering these cultural values
which often discriminate against BAME and lower socio-economic groups. For instance, for
many South Asian women, a high flying career as a lawyer can often deem you as less worthy
of marriage because it is not ‘family friendly’ – a real issue which is often disregarded by law
firms.
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Title Author
Isn’t this just reverse racism/sexism?
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No.
No, no no. D&I policies exist to aid those who are in need. Although there has been dramatic
progress in terms of admission of women and people of colour, they still lag behind significantly
in terms of career progress. D&I policies don’t just recruit people on the basis of their skin colour
or gender – you still need to be a teamworker/leader/full of
tenacity/independent/charismatic/[insert one of the million other qualities that law firms ask for].
No one is being hired just because they are a woman or an ethnic minority. I wish! It would save
me hours of applications.
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Title Author
Do D&I policies actually work?
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Ah. The million dollar question. One of the most important things to realise about D&I policies is
that they are not meant to be a short term solution – the point is to reap their benefits in 10, 20
years time. D&I aims to recruit and support those who are currently non-represented until they
can be fully represented in the future. Bookmark this article and check back in 20 years time to
see how diverse the partners are in a firm. Only time can tell.
However, D&I policies should not be treated as a perfect solution to all a firm’s problems. Often,
sadly, they are used as buzzwords – hoping to earn brownie points, firms emblazon their
brochures and presentations with these two words in a ‘Look At Us! We’re So Goddamn
Progressive!’ manner whilst actually doing nothing of value. Without naming any names, last
year at my university’s law careers fair, I asked a trainee solicitor what their D&I policy was. He
gave me a bit of a disgruntled look (it was fairly obvious he didn’t really want to be at the fair
talking to all these – god forbid – chatty uni students) and was silent for a few moments before
casually replying:
“Well, I couldn’t tell you specifically what our policies are but whenever I look around the office,
not everyone is white…so….yeah”.
Reader, when I tell you I nearly gave up my hopes of being a lawyer there and resigned myself
to a job in Consultancy, I would not be exaggerating (well okay, perhaps not Consultancy. I stilldon’t fully know what they do). Hearing statements like this is more than discouraging – it’s a
kick in the face.
For D&I policies to work, it’s not enough to just recruit under-represented people – they need to
be integrated into the firm and supported in their career: if you don’t offer flexible working time,
disabled access, understand different cultural norms and how they impact people, then you risk
losing some fantastic talent. For years and years, law firms have only hired what they have
known – D&I offers an opportunity to move past tradition and give a lifeline to some of the future
greats of the industry
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Introduction
Sienna is a member of TCLA’s writing team. She is a graduate of Politics and Sociology from the University of Cambridge.
Sienna is interested in race issues, such as the issue of diversity and underrepresentation within corporate circles. She hopes to educate both herself and others on the topics.
You can reach out to Sienna in our forums by clicking here.
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