AG's question asks
Diversity and Inclusion has moved up the agenda in recent years, what action should law firms be taking to ensure that they are creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace?
Because it says 'action' and not 'actions' should we only talk about one initiative, rather than a couple. The word count is around 350 words
As a BAME applicant I always ask law firms what they're doing to
retain diverse talent, rather than what they're doing to recruit - so I emphasise that creating an inclusive environment that incentivises people to *stay* with the firm is, arguably, even more important than pulling in 40% BAME trainee intakes and then having half of them leave because of poor experiences with implicit/explicit bias etc. (that's not to say that law firms haven't been trying - it seems like they really are! will take a few years to see the diversity percentages go up).
You can talk about the need for workplace groups, networks (plenty of law firms have successful examples of this, esp Baker) and reverse mentoring. Plenty of other things relating to LGBTQ+, carers, mental health you could add on to. This example is BAME-specific.
One interesting thing I notice about more progressive law firms is that they're hiring Chief Diversity Officers, etc. And some law firms problematically don't have quotas - you can talk about this too. I quizzed about that at an AC and they admitted it was a structural issue that management was still sorting out (having no quotas).
Hope that helps!
