How can research help to build an inclusive workplace?
We recently had the privilege of partnering with the Legal Services Board to collect and share experiences of counter-inclusive practices in the last few years, delivering insight into workplace experiences.
The testimonies in the study give voice to existing evidence of inequality and inequity in the profession and suggest there may be features, traditions and practices particular to the legal services sector that may hamper efforts to create a more diverse and inclusive profession.
Listening to a range of legal professionals’ experiences wasn’t easy, and we are immensely grateful to all those who talked about what they have lived through and the impact this had on them.
The final published report by the Legal Services Board makes for tricky but important reading for those within the legal profession, not least due to sector specific barriers we identified.
What is striking are the common threads in the ideas participants had for how to build more inclusive workplaces, which included broader themes applicable to any sector.
There are 3 things we’ve taken from this work to drive both our research approaches and our day to day interactions:
Get involved
EDI initiatives are not just for those who are perceived to be the main beneficiaries to work on. It takes a village!
Open conversation
Have enquiring conversations with an open mind, hear directly what makes someone feel welcome, supported, and allows them to be fully themselves.
Equity is different to equality
Those of us who need a little more support might struggle to accept help as it requires us to acknowledge our difference, it might take a while for someone to articulate what they need. Be patient.
The research will inform the LSB’s policy activity on equality, diversity and inclusion, and we will consult on a policy statement later this year to provide clear, updated expectations that aim to maximise the impact of regulation in creating a more diverse legal sector.
‘The insights provided by this study highlight enormous opportunities to make things better by changing the way the sector does business. We hope anyone serious about inclusion in the legal services sector will use the research to tackle the barriers that lawyers face every day.’
Matthew Hill, Chief Executive of the LSB