1 Look Who’s Inside--- Understanding and Responding to Implicit Bias

2 The Attitude Adjustment: “It’s not fitness, It’s life”

3 If it were easy, everyone would look like this

4 The Playing Field Conscious Bias Unconscious Bias

5 Unconscious/Implicit Bias Defined Includes both implicit attitudes and implicit stereotypes 98% of brain works without express cognition Unconscious processes which influence the way in which we perceive and make determinations about people

6 Implicit Association Test

77 Unconscious/Implicit Bias Examples Symphony Orchestras The Rooney Rule Legal Writing Samples Resumes for Job Openings

8 The Playing Field Changing Population Demographics Legal Profession Demographic Trends

9 Minority Representation 2013 Lawyers among lawyers Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2013 (IILP) Minority representation has risen slightly over the past 4 years from 11.6% in 2009 to 14.4% in 2013

10 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2013 (IILP) Decrease in African American Lawyers; Increase for Others Percentage of ALL Lawyers

11 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2013 (IILP) Female Representation among lawyers Female representation rose slightly after stagnating for years

12 Source: NALP 2015 Law Firm Diversity in 2014 PartnersAssociates

13 Representation of Lawyers with Disabilities in Law Firms The representation of lawyers with disabilities in law firms is miniscule – less than 0.5% PartnersAssociates %0.10% %0.28% Source: NALP 2014

14 Representation of LGBT Lawyers in Law Firms The percentage of openly LGBT lawyers in law firms is very low – less than 2% of Partners and less than 3% of Associates PartnersAssociates %1.33% %2.83% Source: NALP 2014

15 Source: Association of Corporate Counsel, Census of U.S. In-House Counsel Corporate Counsel WomenMinority 12.5% 10.0%11.0% 15.0%

16 Source: ABA Section of Legal Education & Admissions to the Board 2013 Law School Enrollment Minority enrollment increased from 20.6% in to 26.9% in Minority

17 Trends in Profession Lack of critical mass for lawyers of color and other diverse lawyers leads to feelings of isolation Stereotyping of incompetence continues but is rebuttable Stereotyping of lack of commitment continues but is rebuttable Challenge for women of color is exponentially greater Legal profession continues to be one of the least diverse in the United States

18 Rule 1: Be Intentional about your Hiring Process, Board Outreach and Goals

19 How Do You Accomplish This? Cast a broad net in your outreach—don’t just go to the usual places Consider eliminating information from the hiring process that has no impact on the job/position Be specific and explicit when you use search firms and insist on diverse slates Use diverse interview teams Track diversity at each step of the hiring process Bottom Line: Your organization, its committees and its board should be diverse Rule # 1

20 Rule 2: Be Intentional about Mentoring Relationships

21 Be Intentional about Mentoring Relationships in your Organization and its Board Building relationships across lines of difference: Builds multicultural competencies Breaks down stereotypes Broadens your cultural lens and experience Changes attitudes Reduces unconscious bias Bottom Line: you will be increasing diversity within the profession Rule #2

22 Rule 3: Accountability and Goals are Important

23 First year Law Firm Associate class should mirror law school graduation pool Work to eliminate racial/gender disparity in attrition Encourage Law Firm members to match or beat NALP’s numbers for firm size nationally/by city Promotion Rate – eliminate disparity Create diversity goals for the profession in your community Rule #3

24 Rule 4: Work to Eliminate Micro-Inequities The little things do matter: Images Language Talking over women Policies Leadership Create an inclusive workplace culture through training/education Rule # 4

25 Rule 5: Succession Planning should be Intentionally Diverse Broaden your scope when thinking about who succeeds you and future leaders—including committee leadership Intentionally promote diverse relationships to build sponsorship relationships Keep inclusion in mind Co-chairs are a great way to increase diversity and plan for succession Be willing to lead by example—show firm members how to be intentional about diversity and inclusion Rule # 5

26 Disrupting unconscious bias is a life long journey---not a destination.

27

28 Sharon E. Jones