In 2020 the Institute of Paralegals (IoP) took the important step to appoint an independent Diversity and Inclusion panel, to advise and assist with the Institute’s commitment to dismantling barriers to a diverse and inclusive legal profession.
This of course is one of the priorities highlighted by the Legal Services board (LSB) in its sector wide strategy to reshape legal services.
In early discussions with the panel, one of the first questions we asked was where do we start? This was quickly followed by; how best can we make an impact on dismantling barriers on diversity and inclusion within the paralegal sector?
It was clear that we needed immensely knowledgeable and dedicated professionals within the D&I space, and I am pleased to say our Diversity & Inclusion Panel has risen to the challenge.
We approached this work with an open mind and here I present three important considerations that came out of early discussions:
- Collecting data is all very well and good but collating, reviewing, and dismantling the findings is vital to have meaningful results that can be added to the evidential base.
A D&I Charter was developed to enable individuals, firms, and other businesses to sign up and to take part in crucial data collection. A copy of the charter can be seen here.
Initially 40 businesses and individuals have signed up to the charter and it is hoped that many more will join.
In essence this was an agreement by participants to enable us to take this work forwards.
So, the next question was, how best can we obtain meaningful data? The D&I panel have successfully drafted a survey, and this has been disseminated to participants, and at the date of writing, we are awaiting the initial results. A copy of our survey can be found here.
- Deciding on which aspect of D&I we will initially focus on, based on the desire to (a) support paralegals in whichever area appeared to have the greatest need and (b) where we felt we could successfully make an impact.
We are starting at the beginning after all and to date we do not know what the data will show. Careful consideration will need to be given in setting out a five-year plan, which we hope to have in place in early 2023.
Identifying barriers that may exist in the paralegal sector is crucial for achieving a diverse legal workforce.
Social mobility is a key feature within the survey as it is important that we capture the socio-economic background of paralegals and to use this data to measure whether there are barriers to achievement across the sector.
- Evaluation of social-mobility data will also be key to establishing policies and calls to action that can actively improve D&I.
Our charter and eventual findings are available to any individual or organisation who would like to contribute to the work we have started. We seek contributions from all paralegals and those who employ paralegals to enable us to find some solutions to any barriers identified.
It is quite clear that the legal sector whether regulated or unregulated, needs effective programmes that can be accessed by all legal professionals for the benefit of consumers and the profession itself.
Collaboration is key, and platforms such as this one, are enabling best practices to be shared. If you would like to know more, please e mail us at office@theiop.org or write to us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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