One way the
legal profession can widen its appeal is by welcoming entrants from across
society.
One of the
most disturbing myths is that all lawyers are male, pale and stale!
The ‘male’ bit
has changed to some extent over the last few years. There are about as many
women qualifying as solicitors as men. But there remains a big difference at
the top where senior positions are still dominated by men. In a 2011 survey
most women lawyers felt that they were paid less than their male counterparts
and this is probably true
Hopefully
that will change as the women who have come into the law in the last ten years become
a bigger influence.
It is
interesting that the report on trust that I mentioned yesterday showed a
particularly poor result in black and minority ethnic groups.
One very
positive initiative here is the Law Society’s Inclusion Charter. Signatories to
the charter are committed to a profession which is inclusive, by working together
to develop recruitment, development and other projects which promote this
agenda.
I have been
proud to have my firm’s name included in the charter.
This is
only a small step but it is something positive.
It was also
encouraging to see the Law Society taking an active role in the London Pride
Event in July this year. Law Firms – including EAD were also well represented
at the Liverpool event last week.
But there
is still a long way to go. BME groups are massively under represented in the
law. This is one area where there needs to be a major drive to encourage
students from these groups to become lawyers. This isn’t easy. It is hard
enough to qualify in the law because of eye watering student fees, the
recession and the abolition of a minimum salary for trainees. But there needs
to be a particular emphasis on making it easier for talented students from all
areas of life to become lawyers.
Maybe then
we can say that we represent society as a whole. This again will do much to increase
trust across the board.
Equality
And Diversity
No comments:
Post a Comment