First but not last

Written by Naeema Sajid, Diversity+

Naeema Sajid shares a 2024 round up of what equality, diversity and inclusion has looked like in the profession.

As a new year begins, I’ve been asked to write a reflective piece on my thoughts around equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in 2024.

If we were to have had an EDI awareness day for the Scottish legal profession last year, the theme might have been ‘First but not Last’.

Why so?

In terms of firsts:

• We celebrated the first-of-its-kind EDI event to mark the opening of the legal year.
• We launched, in collaboration with the Law Society of Scotland, the first EDI certification course for legal professionals.
• We created the Calculator of Privilege, a tool specifically designed for legal professionals to better measure and understand how privilege can be both a barrier and an aid to improving workplace environments. 

Continuing the festive spirit of kindness, you’ll forgive me for taking credit. All three of these milestones may not have been reached had I not stepped away from practicing law and created my consultancy firm, Diversity+. At times when I miss the adrenaline rush of appearing in court and the congeniality of working with colleagues, I must remind myself of this.

As ‘a woman of a certain age and stage in life’, I left for many reasons, but all pointed towards one goal – to find ‘me’ again. To find a happier, healthier and ambitious me. The same me that entered the profession with hope, passion and optimism, traits that little by little get abandoned as the burdens of practice get heavier to shoulder, reaching a point when your body – both physically and mentally – can no longer sustain the weight, particularly when buckling under the additional weight of intersectional and personal responsibilities.

This burden needs to be better understood by the profession and innovative solutions should be found if we want to feminise the profession more equally and sustainably, particularly higher up the chain. We may have to accept that what has become the standard fix of offering flexible working is simply not enough to end generations of prejudices and pressures that have kept the shackles in place, particularly but not exclusively for women. More imaginative business structures and workplace practices will need to be found if we wish to break the chains that strengthen the barriers of advancement in a substantial and meaningful way.

With ‘feminisation of the profession continuing’ (figures show that 57% of solicitors are female, 68% of new entrants are women[1], and staggering still, approximately 70% of law students are also women), more female talent in the industry will inevitably follow.

But the trend of women passing over promotion or leaving the profession altogether will also grow, unless we rebuild structures and dismantle cultures that cause them to leave. Another encouraging trend is the continuing increase in the number of those entering the profession overall.

“For a fourth consecutive year, we’ve seen unprecedented growth as 764 new solicitor traineeships commenced in the most recent practice year from 2023-24.” https://www.lawscot.org.uk/news-and-events/law-society-news/trainee-numbers-show-legal-sector-s-record-growth-continues/

Although I do not have the diversity data for the trainees being referred to (data that ought to be and could be collected), what is clear is that together with the increased feminisation of the profession, we are also seeing an unprecedented increase in those entering the profession. With demand for legal services and talent continuing to grow, this is to be welcomed but must come with a warning as the intergenerational challenges will also increase. Collecting data at this stage will reap many benefits; the most important of which, from my point of view, would be to help improve and better support purposeful EDI initiatives at an early stage, which will also help meet the intergenerational challenges that are becoming ever more evident.

The increase in the diversity of the profession in other forms is also worthy of note. In contrast to data on trainees, diversity data is being collected via the practising certificate renewal process every two years. It shows that at least 4% of those in the profession are from a minority ethnic background and at least 4% identify as LGBTQ+. More interestingly, these figures increase significantly in the thirty or under age group, with those from minority ethnic backgrounds increasing to over 10% (68% female, 32% male), and those identifying as LGBTQ+ increasing to just under 7%. These figures add further weight to why engaging with those at the early stages of their careers is paramount if we wish to nurture and retain diverse talent, talent that will be crucial to meet the industry’s demands in the future.

Add to this the phenomena that the largest growing cohort of students and professionals entering the legal profession are women from a minority ethnic background and more visibly, women of colour, we get a better idea of both the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Unfortunately, whilst I champion and support this positive movement, I predict that these women will also be the ones leaving in higher numbers if things don’t change to make them feel they truly belong and are valued.

There is one clear lesson I have learnt from the solicitors, trainees and law students that I have had the privilege to have conversations with – they want change and they won’t be as patient as those from my era to wait for it. They will not simply be grateful for being let in.

They will wish their voices to be heard and given their growing numbers, they ought to be better included in the decision-making process for sustainable change to come about. If silenced or excluded, they will find a way out.

Inevitably, their desire for change will be met by some resistance, as the industry tries to hold onto its tried-and-tested conventional methods. But their resilience reignites in me the hope, passion and optimism that I once had.

It is this optimism that makes me believe that through my work – and the work of other organisations such as the Scottish Ethnic Minorities Lawyers Association (SEMLA), Disabling Barriers Scotland (DBS), Scottish Young Lawyers Association (SYLA), and the Glass Network, all of which have helped produce firsts – milestones such as the ones mentioned above, will not be the last.

It makes me believe that despite some ripples of polarisation and disengagement, we will continue to build a robust and positive movement toward a diverse and inclusive profession, notably with more diverse talent at leadership level, which in turn will help embrace and speed up more universal change of the industry at large.

Credit is also due to all those organisations and individuals who have supported my efforts (and the efforts of others in the legal EDI space) and encouraged me to keep climbing when at times the summit appeared out of reach. They are the early talent and innovation pathfinders who will be the first to benefit from the changing landscape of the profession.

Diversity+ will be hosting a series of talks in 2025 titled ‘The Scottish legal firm: time for an alternative’. Further details to follow.

[1] Law Society of Scotland data 2022/23