INCLUSIVE: firms need to put in place more proactive strategies


Traditional equal opportunity employment policies are failing to make workplaces in the legal profession more diverse, the head of HR at a top US/UK law firm has claimed.



Tina Two, K&L Gates' director of HR, professional development and diversity in the UK, said law firms must put in place more proactive diversity strategies if they are going to achieve representative work-forces.



'[Our policies] were good policies and followed all the best practice guidelines,' she said. 'And yet, when I looked around me, they didn't seem to be working... Fair policies leave the door open, but they do not drag people in. We have to help people come along and join us.'



Ms Two said firms should understand 'it is not a risk to take on people who do not meet the normal pattern or the usual stereotype, providing their ability meets the requirements of the business'.



Speaking ahead of a diversity seminar focusing on opportunities for people with disabilities in the legal profession this week, Ms Two said: 'Disability is a huge issue. We should be pressuring ourselves to ensure all our teams are inclusive.' She added that firms are often put off because they believe employing people with disabilities will be too expensive.



'Yes, there are costs, but no greater than someone who wants a particular laptop, for example,' she said. 'It is not as if you are realigning a building. In the scheme of things, what you get far outweighs the costs.'



Manjot Dhanjal, director of equality and diversity at the Law Society, is also speaking at the seminar, which is organised by Employment Opportunities (EO), a national charity specialising in disability, and supported by the Gazette.



EO's chief executive, Karin Pappenheim, said accommodating staff with disabilities was not always costly and that government funding is available to help.



Anita Rice