A year of equality, diversity and inclusion

We all know that as a profession we strive to improve equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) on a daily basis. For me, this has not only been one of my priorities during my presidential year, but it has also underpinned much of the work I have done.

As my term nears its end and we mark the start of Black History Month, I have been reflecting on the work we’ve done over the past year to improve EDI in the profession.

In December 2022, I had the privilege of being able to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the first women solicitors being admitted to the roll.

Carrie Morrison – alongside Mary Pickup, Mary Sykes, Maud Crofts, and Agnes Twiston Hughes (the first Welsh woman solicitor) – paved the way for the generations of women who have followed them to practise law in England and Wales.

We have come a long way since 1922, but we must work collectively to ensure that women can reach their full potential and progress to senior leadership.

Despite women making up 53% of the practising profession, they continue to experience barriers when attempting to reach senior levels due to unfavourable promotion structures, a lack of visible senior women role models and unacceptable work-life balances.

The Law Society’s Women in Law Pledge – which also marked its four-year anniversary this year – strives to bring gender equality to the forefront of the conversation. It calls for organisations to set high level targets to make a difference for gender equality in the profession. We urge all members to sign up to show collective public commitment to the change needed.

Our Diversity and Inclusion framework – which was launched in September last year – is a systematic three-step action plan to help our members and firms proactively develop and deliver an EDI strategy that creates lasting change.

The framework helps firms to avoid reactive, short-lived activity which lacks impact. It encourages signatories to establish purpose, develop a plan and ensure performance is monitored through tangible actions and regular progress checkpoints.

We encourage the profession to use the framework to embed lasting change and create a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected and safe. Although initially targeted at medium and large firms, its systematic approach can be adopted by firms of all sizes and in-house teams.

Mental health and the profession

Our framework is one of the ways that we are supporting members, but another way is through our drive to encourage a change in working practices in the profession.

Research has shown the impact some practices can have on legal professionals’ wellbeing.

LawCare’s 2021 Life in the Law report found that 69% of respondents experienced mental ill-health in the 12 months before the survey.

More than 75% of respondents said their workload was unpredictable. 80% said their work is fast-paced with tight deadlines and nearly 65% said they need to check emails outside of regular work hours to keep up with their workload.

This year, we used Time to Talk Day to encourage solicitors to come together to talk about their mental health.

Tackling excessive workloads and working hours, as well as ensuring better supervision support, is essential for all solicitors.

We must all look out for each other and take responsibility for our mental health and wellbeing. We should consider changing our businesses so that colleagues can have a rewarding career in a supportive workplace.

Pride

On 1 July, we had the immense privilege of marching with the Bar Council at London Pride.

For more than 50 years, the legal profession has joined thousands of LGBTQ+ people and their allies to march during Pride. I was proud to unite with solicitors and barristers marching for advancing equality and diversity and raising awareness of LGBTQ+ issues.

Like all lawyers, LGBTQ+ lawyers play an important role in upholding the rule of law, helping shape the justice system and fighting for their clients’ rights. However, we know the fight is not over and LGBTQ+ lawyers’ experiences must be improved.

We will continue to get a greater understanding of the experiences of LGBTQ+ lawyers and work in partnership to remove barriers to inclusion.

We marched under a banner that said: ‘Fighting for equality under the rule of law.’ We were proud to carry this message and will do so throughout this year and beyond.

South Asian Heritage Month

I am keen to raise awareness of the valuable contributions of South Asian communities in this country.

South Asian Heritage Month – which took place between 18 July to 17 August – provides a platform for our South Asian colleagues to tell their stories.

I made history when I became the first Asian and first Muslim president of the Law Society in October last year. Since then, I have been telling my story to help those who are thinking of entering the legal profession and to encourage other solicitors to tell their stories too.

Building a more inclusive profession can be achieved by having an interest in, and an awareness of, diverse experiences and perspectives.

In marking South Asian Heritage Month, I hope we will encourage the profession to take time to learn a little more about heritage and culture, and to celebrate the important contribution of South Asian solicitors.

London Legal Walk

I was pleased to join members of our Disabled Solicitors Network at the London Legal Walk in June.

They had worked with the organisers to ensure more accessible options were available for those who wished to take part and are keen for other local Legal Walks to do the same.

This offered another opportunity to share the great work being done to address the findings of the Legally Disabled? research, including our reasonable adjustments guidance and easy wins and action points for disability inclusion.

Our Project Rise initiative also aims to increase the number of organisations offering part-time training and ongoing networking and support for disabled and neurodivergent people.

Diversity Access Scheme

Finally, in September, I was proud to reveal that we have awarded 14 aspiring solicitors our coveted Diversity Access Scheme (DAS) scholarship.

DAS aims to improve social mobility in the profession by supporting those who face exceptional social, educational, financial or personal obstacles to become solicitors. To date, the scheme has helped nearly 250 aspiring solicitors kickstart their legal careers.

I am thrilled to welcome these 14 new students and I look forward to watching them grow as they take on their studies and work experiences.

Next year, we will celebrate a milestone 20 years of the DAS, where we will celebrate all of our awardees, sponsors and supporters.

This is merely a snapshot of the work we’ve done on EDI over the last 12 months. I have no doubt that the incumbent president, Nick Emmerson, will continue this work with the Law Society’s dedicated EDI staff.

 

Lubna Shuja is president of the Law Society of England and Wales