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Barristers’ chambers should adopt formal, regulated mentoring schemes to encourage diversity, a Legal Services Board (“LSB”) report has recommended.
These schemes “should be supported by regulation or formal procedures including mechanisms to monitor their efficacy”.
The report, “Diversity in the legal profession in England and Wales,” published in October, looks at the career patterns of women and black and minority ethnic (“BME”) legal professionals.
Several practitioners, particularly in the north where there are few senior barristers and partners who are either women or BME, said they favoured mentoring and spoke of the importance of visible role models.
The legal profession has become increasingly diverse in recent years. In 2008-09, women made up 46 per cent of solicitors and 34 per cent of barristers, while BME professionals made up 13 per cent of solicitors and 16 per cent of barristers.
However, the report found that opportunities for lawyers are “not equally distributed”. White graduates from higher socio-economic groups are over-represented in City firms and at the Bar, while BME women from lower socio-economic groups are concentrated in small high street practices.
Individual choices accounted for some of these outcomes, but there were also other factors at play. Despite there being formal processes in most offices, work was often allocated unfairly so the careers of some were fostered at the expense of others. Networking events often involved “predominantly male” activities. Some women barristers commented on the fact their self-employed status meant there were few diversity initiatives available to them.
Informal mentoring through which “powerful senior figures (generally white men) tended to foster the careers of young white men” was present in most workplaces and was a “major obstacle” to diversity, the report found.
The report’s recommendations included: supporting outreach programmes; offering bursaries for the LPC and BPTC and for trainees and pupil barristers; encouraging the development of formal support networks and mentoring schemes and supporting role models; and ensuring work allocation and promotion procedures are transparent.
These schemes “should be supported by regulation or formal procedures including mechanisms to monitor their efficacy”.
The report, “Diversity in the legal profession in England and Wales,” published in October, looks at the career patterns of women and black and minority ethnic (“BME”) legal professionals.
Several practitioners, particularly in the north where there are few senior barristers and partners who are either women or BME, said they favoured mentoring and spoke of the importance of visible role models.
The legal profession has become increasingly diverse in recent years. In 2008-09, women made up 46 per cent of solicitors and 34 per cent of barristers, while BME professionals made up 13 per cent of solicitors and 16 per cent of barristers.
However, the report found that opportunities for lawyers are “not equally distributed”. White graduates from higher socio-economic groups are over-represented in City firms and at the Bar, while BME women from lower socio-economic groups are concentrated in small high street practices.
Individual choices accounted for some of these outcomes, but there were also other factors at play. Despite there being formal processes in most offices, work was often allocated unfairly so the careers of some were fostered at the expense of others. Networking events often involved “predominantly male” activities. Some women barristers commented on the fact their self-employed status meant there were few diversity initiatives available to them.
Informal mentoring through which “powerful senior figures (generally white men) tended to foster the careers of young white men” was present in most workplaces and was a “major obstacle” to diversity, the report found.
The report’s recommendations included: supporting outreach programmes; offering bursaries for the LPC and BPTC and for trainees and pupil barristers; encouraging the development of formal support networks and mentoring schemes and supporting role models; and ensuring work allocation and promotion procedures are transparent.
Barristers’ chambers should adopt formal, regulated mentoring schemes to encourage diversity, a Legal Services Board (“LSB”) report has recommended.
Far-ranging month for the Chair of the Bar
Endometriosis Awareness North, a charity raising awareness of endometriosis and supporting those affected across the North of England, has received a £500 boost from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs, examines the most recent data on alcohol misuse in the UK, and the implications for alcohol testing in family proceedings
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, explains how tailored financial planning can help barristers take control of their finances and plan with confidence
Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
A £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs has been made to the leading UK charity tackling international parental child abduction and the movement of children across international borders
Seeing the full picture – Baljit Ubhey OBE outlines the CPS action plan to tackle violence against women and girls, offering insights directly relevant to courtroom practice
Heritage as an anchor and a compass, finding our common humanity and embracing the power of the outsider – Melina Antoniadis’s lessons learnt
Switching from a physical blue book to OneNote is simple, secure and game-changing, says Elizabeth Bowden – you’ll wonder how you managed without it...
Is the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office process fit for purpose? Women barristers’ experiences of bullying are not being reported or, if they are, they are not making it through the system, says Tana Adkin KC
Review by Daniel Barnett
