The Race Fairness Commitment (RFC), signed by 17 top law firms, mandates close analysis of quantitative data and monitoring of progress from recruitment to senior promotion so firms can identify the points at which BAME lawyers face a disadvantage.
The RFC includes measures to ensure junior ethnic minority lawyers have access to senior management, and 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. There is an explicit commitment to foster workplaces where ‘everyone can have authenticity of speech and culture―no more fitting in and no more being “othered”’.
The initiative has been organised by the firms in partnership with Rare, a diversity recruitment specialist. While most leading law firms now recruit graduate trainees that are as ethnically diverse as the population, this diversity has not been maintained at management level. According to Rare’s own research, BAME lawyers spend on average 20% less time at firms than their white colleagues before leaving.
Raphael Mokades, founder and managing director of Rare, said: ‘What seems possible in terms of racial justice has shifted this year, and the Race Fairness Commitment is about real change. It’s a brave step for the law firms to take, as well as a necessary one. It goes beyond merely not discriminating, and it goes beyond the usual diversity and inclusion activities you see at many organisations. For law firms, it’s about recognising a problem and hunting it down, and I’m delighted that so many have taken this major step.’
Roy Appiah, Rare alumnus and senior associate at Clifford Chance, said: ‘I’ve sometimes had to take the bass out of my voice.
‘I’ve felt unable to express frustration, even when that frustration was justifiable. I used to feel cautious about leading, or taking on additional responsibilities, out of concern that any failing of mine would confirm that people like me do not belong.
‘It is no coincidence that I am a better lawyer when I feel I can be myself.’
For further details about the RFC, view: www.Racefairnesscommitment.com.
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