What progress is genuinely being made towards greater inclusion within our legal profession? Statistics around recruitment may be improving, but is retention now the issue to focus upon; especially within the community of black and ethic minority lawyers?
Show Notes
Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. The profession has made some improvement in relation to recruitment but how do we retain lawyers from all backgrounds within the profession? The ReImagine Law team are joined by Debo Nwauzu (founder of the Black Lawyers Directory) and James Alao (Clifford Chance). James and Debo discuss a number of themes including; the challenges with the breadth of the phrase 'BAME' when trying to identify specific challenges around inclusion, how possible it is to bring your whole self to work, and the importance of work allocation to enable equality of opportunity.
This episode encourages listeners to undertake some practical actions after listening to the episode.
- Speak to people from the 'inside out' to understand and learn what the culture is really like within an organisation. Then consider, what suggestions you could make to create a greater sense of inclusion in a team of which you are a member?
- Make yourself aware of 'unconscious bias' and how that might be impacting your style as an colleague / manager / fellow student, and how you create inclusive team cultures. We all have it, and can reduce it through awareness.
Resources
What is Reimagine Law?
A podcast about legal education to help students navigate an increasingly complex set of career path choices, and build the mind-set of being a life-long learner. We're here to promote innovative education, and diverse workforces by democratising access to career advice from both experts and current students alike.