Almost 30 leading law firms, including major real estate specialists, have signed up to the Race Fairness Commitment, as they continue efforts to recruit and nurture black, Asian and minority ethnic talent within their organisations.
Baker McKenzie, Bird & Bird, Burges Salmon, BWB, Clyde & Co, Dechert, Fieldfisher, Gowling, Mishcon de Reya, Stephenson Harwood, Taylor Wessing and Withers are the latest legal firms to sign the commitment, joining 17 other firms that made the pledge in July.
The founding signatories of the RFC are Allen & Overy, Ashurst, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Clifford Chance, DWF, Dentons, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hogan Lovells, Linklaters, Macfarlanes, Norton Rose Fulbright, Pinsent Masons, RPC, Slaughter and May, Travers Smith and White & Case.
The RFC, made in partnership with diversity recruitment specialist Rare, draws on data-driven techniques to reveal and tackle organisational weaknesses unfairly holding back BAME staff.
It includes concrete steps to which all the signatories commit in an effort to recruit, retain and develop BAME talent. These include championing junior ethnic minority talent and ensuring that race and racism are talked about in every induction and exit interview. Interview and offer rates, retention rates, pay and promotion rates will be actively monitored as they relate to ethnic minority lawyers – and, where appropriate, published.
The RFC also includes a commitment to foster workplaces where BAME people can be themselves at work rather than feeling they have to change the way they behave to “fit in”.
Rare is also making the RFC’s methodology available on a free, open-access basis to any employers who want to identify and tackle their organisation’s points of adverse impact on race.
Eifion Morris, chief executive of Stephenson Harwood, said: “When it comes to ethnic diversity, law firms have a lot to do. But we are committed to change. Cross-sector collaboration and commitments like this challenge and support us to take meaningful action that will make a lasting difference. I’m really pleased to sign us up.”
Sarah Gregory, inclusion and diversity partner at Baker McKenzie, said the firm is excited to “seize the moment to act on workplace race equality and to make a real change to the experience of ethnic minority colleagues”.
Vinod Bange, partner at Taylor Wessing, added: “Racism and racial injustice have no place in our world. We all play a crucial role in making progress, and our commitment to working with Rare enables us to find more and better ways to do that. We place diversity and inclusion centrally within our business because we recognise it’s the right thing to do – for us, our clients and the communities in which we operate.
“Beyond our individual roles within society at large, I believe our firm has a duty to effect change within the legal profession. It’s through working closely with other organisations that, together, we can continue to collaborate and challenge the prejudice and privilege which stops us reaching our goal of a fairer and more equal society.”
And Peter Hirst, senior partner at Clyde & Co, said: “There is absolutely no place for racism or discrimination anywhere in our society, in the legal profession or at our firm, which is why we are delighted to continue our partnership with Rare by signing its Race Commitment. This commitment will help us monitor our progress as we seek to create an inclusive workplace for everyone, and particularly black and ethnic minorities. I am encouraged to see a number of law firms have signed up to the commitment and we look forward to working with them.”
Click here for further details about the RFC.
The text of the Race Fairness Commitment
We want fairness at work for people of all ethnic backgrounds – we want everyone to have an equal chance to succeed.
Specifically, this means:
• Black, and all ethnic minority, job applicants with given qualifications are as likely to be interviewed as their white counterparts.
• Black, and all ethnic minority, people who reach interview are as likely to be offered a role as their white counterparts.
• Black, and all ethnic minority, people performing at a certain level are as likely to be promoted as their white counterparts performing at the same level.
• Black, and all ethnic minority, people at a certain level are paid the same as their white counterparts (in a similar performance band and comparable role if the organisation uses a role classification, performance ratings and management system).
• Black, and all ethnic minority, people remain at the organisation on average as long as their white counterparts.
• Black, and all ethnic minority, people are as able to be themselves at work as white people – everyone can have authenticity of speech and culture – no more fitting in and no more being “othered”.
We commit that our UK businesses will:
• Monitor internally with a view to publishing externally on an annual and aggregated basis the following data:
– Application to interview rates for black, all ethnic minority, and white groups – for graduate programmes these should be grade-adjusted calculations so that what is being compared is the success rates of candidates from different ethnicities with the same A level or equivalent grades.
– Interview to offer rates for black, all ethnic minority, and white groups.
– Promotion rates for black, all ethnic minority, and white groups.
– Ethnicity stay gap rates looking specifically at black, all ethnic minority, and white groups.
• Complete at least once per year the following analyses:
– Ethnicity equal pay analysis by level, function, location and performance banding where present, looking specifically at black, all ethnic minority, and white groups.
– Employee sentiment on the question “I can be myself at work”, for black, all ethnic minority, and white groups.
• Champion junior ethnic minority talent by:
– Monitoring any outreach programmes run by the firm to ensure that they include a proportion of black, and all ethnic minority, students at least in line with the local school and university age population.
– Ensuring that every junior ethnic minority member of staff has access to a senior manager, with a view where possible to creating sponsorship, mentoring and reverse mentoring programmes.
• Ensure everyone joining us gets a clear message in their induction that the organisation has zero tolerance of racism.
• Ask in every exit interview whether the person leaving has experienced or seen racism in the firm.
• Ensure that at least once a year, the firm tells all its staff that it has zero tolerance of racism and, if appropriate, shares examples of how the firm has dealt with any incidents of racism.
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