By Lucy Caulkett-
A major survey of lawyers in the U.S has revealed widespread gender and racial bias in the legal profession.
The study shows that discrimination affects hiring, promotion, assignments and pay in the legal sector. Prepared and written for the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the report worryingly reveals implicit gender and racial bias regularly in legal offices influencing basic workplace processes.
Brought to The Attention Of The Eye Of Media.Com by The Law Society, the findings confirm ongoing bias in one of the most prestigious professions in the world. Writers and lawyers, and legal analysts are said to have been very disturbed by the findings.
Responses from over 2,800 lawyers show that two-thirds of BAME women report being held to higher standards than colleagues 58% of BAME women and half of white women say they have been mistaken for administrative staff or janitors. Also, close to 70% of BAME women and 60% of white women reported they were paid less than comparable colleagues.
More than 70% of all groups reported encountering sexist comments, stories and jokes in the workplace. A quarter of women reported they had encountered unwelcome sexual harassment at work.
‘This study confirms what many of us have known about the legal profession for some time, that women, especially women of colour, face a lot of barriers to success and aren’t measured as equals by their employers and peers,’ said MCCA chief executive Jean Lee.
‘‘We need to take a different approach to diversity issues and use the findings of this study and metrics from across the industry to drive meaningful solutions to combat workplace discrimination in the legal field.’ In this modern age where laws supporting equal opportunities exist, the finding is most horrifying and disturbing, calling for special intervention to address the issue. Racial and sexual discrimination is a cancer that needs to be fought continuously, the legal profession should be setting standards in this area.
PRESSURE
The survey revealed that women of all races reported pressure to behave in so-called ‘feminine ways’ and were given higher loads of non-career enhancing office work. White women reported doing more administrative tasks (such as taking notes) than their colleagues at a level 21 percentage points higher than white men, and BAME women reported doing more of this type of office housework at a level 18 percentage points higher than white men.
The survey also revealed the presence of bias right across the board against new parents. At least half of the women polled claimed to have been treated worse after having children by being given low-quality assignments, passed over for promotions, demoted or paid. At least two-fifths of all male lawyers in the survey reported similar experiences.
UK BIAS
Researchers at the law society also revealed that the bias reported in the U.S survey is similar the situation in England and Wales. In 2018 , women accounted for just 30% of law firm partners despite making up half of solicitors. Gender pay gap reports have also shown significant pay differences between men and women in the legal profession. Adding to that, SRA research has also discovered that white men dominate law firm partnerships and are nearly six times more likely to become a law firm partner than black, Asian and minority ethnic women.
The finding calls for the situation to be tackled, and members of The Eye Of Media.Com’s think tank group are planning to team up with The Law Society and other pressure groups to recommend ways to change this unacceptable state of affairs in the U.k and the U.S. There are no easy solutions to overcoming bias in any setting, but through combined ideas and efforts, poor practices can be improved