The Law Society must be in the vanguard of campaigning for pay equality within the legal profession, argues Nwabueze Nwokolo.


Much press coverage was given to Law Society research showing that black and ethnic minority solicitors are paid 17% less than their white counterparts, while women fare not much better at 7% less.  



Historically, pay-parity work has been based on gender, for obvious reasons - there are so many gender-based researchers and advocates. The Association of Women Solicitors has now joined the bandwagon, campaigning for pay parity for women solicitors. I welcome this.



As the chair of the Law Society Group Equality and Diversity Committee, I would urge the Society to launch a campaign for pay parity for all those groups that have traditionally been treated very badly in this regard.



I now have to declare an interest: I am a mature, black woman, so in me you see three negative factors in the pay lottery - age, gender and race. How do we deal with this kind of multiplicity of discrimination?



The Law Society should work alongside all solicitors who suffer pay discrimination. This problem must be tackled holistically and the campaign must be owned and driven by the representative body working with stakeholders, including all the groups that represent the broad church that is our profession.



The Society needs to demonstrate leadership by convening a conference to begin a conversation about how best to tackle this problem.



What else can the Society do? It can educate the profession about pay equality and provide information about this at events and in publications. It could make an audit tool available to firms to assess the fairness of pay policies.



The Society's strategy must be methodical, bold and joined up. It is necessary to build a strong coalition for change reflecting the rich diversity within the membership.



Employers of solicitors, meanwhile, must begin to recognise that there is a business case for pay equity. They are legally obliged to provide equal remuneration for work of equal value. Paying employees differently for doing the same work puts the law firm at risk of a potentially damaging and expensive discrimination claim.



It is important for firms to attract and retain the best and brightest of employees. The motivation of the entire workforce within a law firm will suffer if there is a perception that some are paid unfairly and if the opportunities for progression are not there for solicitors from historically disadvantaged groups.



Employees must become brave, proactive advocates for pay equality. Solicitors are already well equipped to showcase the work they do by keeping proper records, itemising and describing each activity and setting out the value  added to the business.  Employees should work together to challenge poor HR management - for example, the secrecy surrounding pay. The often impenetrable shroud surrounding what employees are paid makes it sometimes impossible to find a comparator in pay discrimination cases, as the law stipulates. This is a very effective barrier to obtaining redress through court proceedings. There must be a strong commitment by employers to publish pay awards and how such awards were calculated.



In summary, the Law Society should be at the forefront in campaigning for what is best for the solicitors it represents. Employers must make a commitment to full disclosure of pay, together with improving and implementing other equal pay-friendly policies and practices.



Employees should be their own best advocates and be ready for a long and sustained effort to bring into being a fairer working environment for all solicitors.



Nwabueze Nwokolo is Council Member, Minority Ethnic Concerns and Chair of the Group Equality and Diversity Committee