The strategy aims to bolster senior leadership diversity and help disabled solicitors
The Law Society of England and Wales has debuted a new equality, diversity, and inclusion strategy to address equality concerns in senior leadership and workplace cultures as well as disability in the profession, reported the Law Society Gazette.
The three-year member-facing strategy has three objectives: bolstering senior leadership diversity, supporting disabled solicitors, and cultivating inclusive workplace cultures. It was developed over a year with feedback from members of the profession.
Contributors to the strategy included over 70 aspiring and junior solicitors, mid-career professionals, and senior leaders from law firms, in-house teams and organisations working with the profession. They participated in focus groups and interviews.
President Mark Evans explained that inequality and bias “continue to shape career paths” in spite of progress in the area of EDI, per a statement published by the Gazette. He highlighted the obstacles faced by women, minority ethnic, LGBTQ+ and disabled solicitors in attaining senior positions.
He added that disabled solicitors were underrepresented and that “too often, workplace cultures leave people feeling like they can’t bring their best selves to work,” per a statement published by the Gazette.
“At the Law Society, we will continue to use our voice, influence and connections to build a more inclusive profession. But we can’t do it alone. We need law firms, in-house teams, and legal professionals at all levels to step up and join us. Let’s build on the progress made and ensure equality, diversity, and inclusion become the foundation of our profession’s future,” Evans said in a statement published by the Gazette.
The strategy was announced last Thursday November 6.
Last year, a report published by the International Bar Association revealed that just 38 percent of women lawyers worldwide held senior positions in the legal profession. Factors in this inequality included economic and cultural barriers to gender equality in society and workplace measures to drive gender equality.
