Black, Asian And Minority Ethnic Family Lawyers Under-Represented

Research from a diversity survey done by family lawyer group Resolution, has found that three-quarters of family lawyers are white women, as well as being older than the wider solicitor population.

The survey took responses from 3,000 of its 6,500 members and found that only 24% of members were male.

Resolution did state that it was “impossible to say whether our membership reflects the sector” and has contacted the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to ask if their data can be shared to compare the findings.

The breakdown in respondents showed that the majority (75%) were solicitors, with the remaining brown down to legal executives, finance professionals, barristers and mediator.

Of the family lawyers who responded to the survey, it was found 86% of those were white, which was in line with the UK workforce figures, but was described by Resolution as “disproportionately white”.

The survey found that Muslim lawyers were the most underrepresented, with only 73 (less than 2.4%) giving their religious affiliation as Muslim, compared to 77 Jewish and 76 Hindus. This differs with the UK workforce figures which states 5% of the UK workforce are Muslim and with the SRA who states that they have an 8% proportion of Muslim solicitors.

A third of respondents to the survey listed that they had no religion and just over half (53%) listed their religion as Christian.

Other interesting statistics revealed in the survey included:

The sexual orientation of family lawyers is more diverse than their colleagues in other areas of the profession.

Family lawyers were more likely to be older, with only 20% being aged between 25 – 34, compared to 29% in the industry.

There is a higher proportion of family lawyers (7.5%) who listed a disability compared to the rest of the industry or the UK workforce.

A third of members stated they are the primary care giver to a child under the age of 18.

Researchers have stated that Resolution should take action to increase the number of young and ethnic minority members, which Resolution appears to have taken on board, stating they will develop a diversity strategy with the results.

“This will include the development of a diversity policy and then an action plan. Once an action plan has been implemented, we will use this data as a benchmark so that we can measure the success (or not) of the action we’ve taken.”

Are you a Resolution member and in a minority group? How do you feel Resolution can diversify their membership?