Richard Collins (SRA Executive Director) Diversity in law firms Thinking differently Richard Collins (SRA Executive Director) You can change this title to fit the session title as advertised, just added it in as a holding slide – the title references our new approach but also the benefits of having people who think differently

SRA ED&I Strategy Develop a more diverse workforce and promote an inclusive culture, equality of opportunity for all staff and the behaviours and capabilities required to regulate proportionately, fairly and free from bias;   Ensure that the way we operate, our rules and the decisions we make are proportionate, fair and free from bias and help firms and individuals understand and comply with our requirements; and Work with those we regulate to support them in achieving a more diverse and inclusive profession.

SRA focus on diversity Legal Services Act Regulatory Objective SRA Regulatory Risk - lack of a diverse and representative profession is a priority risk in our Risk Outlook Relationship with lack of equality of opportunity, inclusion and disproportionality of regulatory outcomes

Regulatory Risk “The risks [of a lack of diversity] are ‘group think’, and a lack of understanding of those of different backgrounds. Certain professions should arguably be representative of the public for reasons of legitimacy” The Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission

Promoting the benefits “Diversity is sometimes said to be the enemy of merit. I do not agree: provided that diversity is properly invoked, it is not merely consistent with merit: it reinforces merit. I have already explained that the more inclusiveness we have the bigger the pool of potential judges, and the bigger that pool the higher the quality of judges.” Lord Neuberger

Thinking “differently” 15% of people with Autism have a full time job, although 79% of those with Autism on Incapacity Benefit want to work GCHQ recognised that the skills they required attracted a high proportion of individuals with different thinking styles and behaviours, but frequently with exceptional skills. GCHQ's now employs more than 300 neurodiverse staff across all grades.

So is there a problem? 69% 1 in 3 £20k What proportion of partners are male? What proportion of partners went to private school? The average wage gap between white male solicitors and BME women solicitors? 69% 1 in 3 £20k Here we can bring in some information about equality of opportunity. The Guardian did some undercover research on bias in recruitment. They found that across many sectors of the UK economy, undercover candidates with African or Asian names were routinely denied interviews, whereas their white counterparts with exactly the same CVs were given interviews. In the slideshow, the answers are revealed by clicking the mouse for each one.

So is there a problem? Quotes from response to a recent SRA consultation, “There have been cases where cultural approaches to integrity have starkly demonstrated that some foreign professionals have an entirely different moral compass.” “It is the case, however, that many Italians have a relaxed attitude towards bureaucracy and that truthfulness is an elastic concept: more so in some cultures than others.” There is a problem

So is there a problem?

Our approach “Work with those we regulate to support them in achieving a more diverse and inclusive profession.”

Diversity data collection SRA has run a workforce diversity data collection for two years. 2014 – 9383 firms provided information with 201,203 individuals working for them 2014 – information received about 159,791 individuals Similar number of firms reported as in 2012/13 but 58% increase in individuals responding Report on SRA website Will repeat in 2015

Our benchmarking tool Goes live in December Is free Doesn’t require you to provide any data Is optional, not a regulatory requirement Is available to try today on the equality and diversity market stall