Diversity is great for business: it makes the team richer and drives innovative thought. A team composed of so many different perspectives can view problems from all different angles.

There has been a movement among lawyers for years to improve diversity, equity and inclusion. I have been practicing law for over two decades and the fact that we still need to have this conversation proves that the needle has not moved far enough.

Caught on tape

Right before the pandemic hit, there were a lot of discussions around DE&I in all fields, including the legal profession. Over the last two years, there has also been great social unrest and social justice campaigns that have forced societal inequities to come into the light.

The experience of the African American person – irrespective of economic status – is pretty similar, so what happened with George Floyd was not news to anyone in the community – but it was news to people who live outside of the community. From a social injustice perspective, it highlighted to people outside the community what has been happening on a regular basis. The fact that the incident was caught on tape was what galvanized the movement.

People in corporate America also started to take notice and question: ‘Why is representation of people of color not reflecting the national population?’

This is leading to a lot of productive conversations that we did not have before, for example, conversations around children of color and what opportunities they are being exposed to from kindergarten all the way up to college. There is also a real discussion around why law firms and companies struggle to retain diverse staff.

Casting a wide net

One thing I have always been passionate about is retention. This seems to be a problem that many law firms face. In my experience, when minority associates hit their fourth or fifth year in law, many of them choose to leave their jobs. Some decide to move in-house, whilst others choose to leave the profession completely.

As a profession, we need to make changes and address why this is happening. I would love to see law firms invest more in their diverse associates. It is not enough to hire them; firms have to be intentional in investing in their progress.

This requires a lot of work, and it is not about ticking boxes. It requires real commitment and investment from every facet of an organization. When employees feel as if they belong to a team, they tend to not only be happier, but are more willing to be an advocate for the law firm or company.

Similarly, hiring also needs to be intentional when attracting diverse talent. Although I do believe that the best person for the job should always be hired, executives and boards need to make sure they are casting a wide enough net to attract people from different backgrounds and experiences.

The truth is, you do not have to have a specific target when you cast a net for a job. I like to bring in the best candidates and, if the net is cast wide enough, that should also include a diverse pool of lawyers. This is what I have done and, in my department, we have a mix of age groups, ethnicities and backgrounds.

The go-getter

In the legal profession, I believe all women face a certain level of gender discrimination when entering the workforce. Women are generally viewed as weaker and not aggressive enough. Their skills and abilities are constantly questioned. Even though this is unfair, it is the reality that women in the legal profession have to face.

However, when it comes to women of color in the legal profession, discrimination becomes twofold. Not only are women of color faced with gender bias, they are also faced with racial bias associated with the diverse backgrounds they represent.

We have all heard of the ‘angry black woman’ trope. The perception that women of color can be ‘too aggressive’ when choosing to be assertive is very unfortunate. When a majority male is in the same situation, their aggressive attitude is considered an asset, and that person is perceived as ‘a go-getter’.

What navigating this stereotype means for women of color is that unless you are working with a team of colleagues who are progressive and forward thinking, you have to be aware of this perception.

For example, when I was in private practice, I was setting my materials down in a conference room filled with white men. This was fine and not a problem, I was ready to do my job. But as I entered, one of the white gentlemen asked me to get some coffee.

I said: ‘Absolutely, I will call my assistant to get us some coffee. Would you like her to bring anything additional, such as creamers or tea? We can have her come in and do that for us, while we get down to business.’

My hope for the future is that people will think twice before making an assumption.

Moving up the ranks

The way I have managed to overcome the barriers faced by women of color in the legal profession has been by having purposeful conversations and building meaningful relationships. Having authentic conversations with colleagues is so important. Once things become personal and you share stories about your kids and family, it is very easy to build purposeful connections.

In fact, I believe building meaningful relationships is more important than having a mentor or networking. The terms ‘mentoring’ and ‘networking’ are a little too casual. What is better than a mentor is being able to build a relationship with someone who is willing to invest in your upward mobility.

In law firms, when a partner really wants to invest in an associate, there will be invitations to dinner, invitations to play golf and invitations to parties. Once you break bread with someone and talk about your children, pets and life, people open up and become engaged.

The same thing is true in the corporate environment. It is beneficial to take the time to get to know people on a personal level. Individuals are more willing to invest in your career progression if they feel connected to you. I tell all my young associates to be their authentic selves at work. It is the only way to truly succeed and progress your career.

You can be replaced

Also, it is really imperative for young associates to understand that expectations need to be managed. This might be a bit controversial, but having a job is a privilege and there should be no expectation that ‘this job should be mine’. This job is only mine because I do it well and I am happy to have it. Just like anything else, this job can be lost.

While I think my talents are appreciated, none of what we do in any field is rocket science and I am easily replaceable.

I do believe that people of color, and people in majority firms and corporations, need to learn a bit of flexibility. Change is difficult, but holding the view that we should run operations a certain way because ‘that is how we have always done it’ is unproductive. It is also a very inflexible way of doing business. If attorneys and business professionals open themselves up, they may find a better way of doing business, which may also be more inclusive.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion can mean different things to different people, but to me, as a woman of color, it means that all voices are heard, and all voices get the opportunity to contribute. It is also about seeing people like me in positions like mine.

An awakening

Over the last two years, the whole world has been reminded that life is short. One of the many things that the pandemic did was to shine a light on the realities that we have been experiencing as women and people of color.

Especially in the United States, but also around the globe, there has been an awakening.

Race and diversity have come to the forefront. but, I want to make it clear that we, as the underrepresented, have always known that it was there.  Unfortunately, it took  the filming of blatant racial injustice and persecution to force others to see it.

Finally, those in the majority and in seats of power have started to recognize the disparity and inequity facing underrepresented minority groups. So, the shift we are seeing is that others are listening, and that is manifesting itself in invigorated and new efforts by law firms and corporations to make DE&I a priority.  It is an new embracing of diversity initiatives and goals.

However, time will tell if that intent to change will become a reality.  Unfortunately, attention spans and societal memory is often short, and we need to make sure that initiatives to fight injustice and inequity do not become a forgotten fad. Therefore, corporations like mine, law firms, and industry organizations need to set goals that accelerate DE&I and invest in those programs for the long-term and at all levels.

When they bet against you

To be a Black female lawyer is to face, head on, every single day, micro and macroaggressions – and to constantly prove people wrong when they underestimate your worth and talent.

Growing up, my mother would often tell me that I would have to work two, three or even four times harder than others for half the recognition, because people would see my race and my gender, and they would bet against me.

I always knew that to get to where I wanted to be, there was going to be a lot of fighting and hard work. I could tell you a lot of stories about my hair getting touched, people thinking that I was in the room to serve the coffee, and so on.

But the most important thing is to keep going and to be resilient. Although progress can feel very slow, if you continue to be resilient, the contributions you make will help propel the DE&I movement forward. The hope is that one day, the representation we see at firms and companies will reflect that of society.

Change will happen if you continue to show up.

You are good enough

It is important for women of color to ignore that little voice in their head that says ‘You do not belong’ and ‘You are not good enough’. My main advice is do not invite it in – it has no place in your journey.

There is an unfortunate statistic showing that women and people of color will hesitate to reach for a goal or apply for a job unless they think they meet the criteria for that job perfectly. Unless they meet all of the job requirements, they simply will not apply. Whereas a cisgender, heterosexual white man will apply for a job even if he only meets a few.

It is really important that you believe that you are good enough. If you are fighting for change and are doing the work to push your career forward, regardless of what anyone else is saying, you need to trust your own competence.

One of my favorite analogies comes from world champion racing driver, Mario Andretti. When a journalist asked him how he was able to win so many races, Andretti said: ‘Don’t look at the wall.’

If we, as lawyers of color, are always focused on challenges – the wall – we lose sight of our destination.  It is far more productive to focus on what you are doing, and where you are going.

Be the change

I am very passionate about breaking down the barriers that exist for women and underrepresented groups. As companies, and as a legal profession, it is crucial to understand the need for varied perspectives.

As the Chief Ethics and Compliance officer at MSD, diversity, equity, and inclusion are a big part of what I do. Broadly, we are ingraining DE&I into our company’s ethos. We are fostering a culture of inclusion and making it part of people’s performance evaluations. You cannot be a good leader unless you embrace DE&I.

More specifically, we have very clear diversity initiatives and staffing policies with respect to our legal network. When working with law firms, we incentivize them to embed diversity into their teams. And, we have diversity awards that we present to counsel who reach our agreed diversity goals.

The goals we set are specific to each law firm and are based on what the firm is lacking. Are you lacking in female representation? Are you lacking in Black representation? Are you lacking in Asian representation? From this, we set diversity goals that the firm must reach. A financial incentive is also included for those firms that reach our goals.

Aside from that, within our company, we provide networking opportunities and mentorship programs to our underrepresented ethnic groups. We partner our internal talent with external talent at law firms to provide more opportunity to build skills, and broaden career resources inside the firm and company.

The most important thing about making DE&I a priority is putting KPIs in place. Making sure that we have something tangible when we discuss diversity initiatives is paramount. From a business perspective, it pays to have diversity and diverse perspectives in the room.

Work in progress

There is still a lot of work that needs to be done and a lot of opportunities to create in order to have a more equitable legal profession. I believe that law firms and corporations need to develop formal programs and not just passively hope change is going to occur organically.

Part of changing things is providing people with access to someone they may not otherwise come across within their own social circle, for example, providing access to members of a board of directors. It is important to meet individuals at the top who can advise you on how to develop your own career during your professional journey.

We also need to provide people with the skills that they need to be successful.  For example, at law firms, young lawyers should be taught how to win business and how to talk to clients, and they should be provided with opportunities that will prepare them to become a law firm partner one day.

Keeping track of who is provided with which opportunity is key to holding each other accountable. It is important that companies keep track of what roles women and people of color play in the workplace – and make sure there is a conscious effort that they are given the same opportunities as others in the team.

DE&I is a team effort—everyone must play their part.

On 25 May 2020, the murder of 46-year-old George Floyd made international news headlines. What followed were nationwide protests against police brutality that would ultimately make the Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrations a global movement.

In response, corporate America was quick to condemn social injustice and racial inequity. Companies and law firms vowed to re-examine their own diversity and inclusion initiatives and make tangible commitments to hiring, developing and promoting a more diverse workforce.

Time for change

One of the most under-represented groups in the legal industry is women of color. Those who have made it to the upper echelons of the legal profession have defied the odds, and their climb to the top has not been easy.

‘According to the US Census Bureau, the legal profession is the least diverse profession in the United States. When you look at racial/ethnic representation at the partnership level, the numbers are dismal – only 6.6% (Source: NALP). These numbers do not reflect the diversity of this nation,’ says Laurie Haden, president and chief executive officer of Corporate Counsel Women of Color (CCWC), a not-for-profit organization focused on advancing female attorneys of color and fostering diversity within the legal profession.

‘Over the years, law firms have sought to combat this problem with unconscious/implicit bias training and other programs and initiatives. Unfortunately, not much progress has been witnessed over the last 20 years.’

However, the global pandemic, together with the BLM movement and a fraught political backdrop, has made this a defining moment in history. Ashley Page, former general counsel at Learfield IMG College and current chief compliance officer at Endeavor, believes that people are now ready to acknowledge the need for change.

‘I really think that we are at a watershed moment in this country with respect to issues of race and gender. People are tired, frustrated and angry. There has just been a lot to deal with during the last presidency,’ she says.

‘Everything is just at a boiling point. So I think, for the legal profession, it has pushed many of us to take sides and discuss difficult topics within our professional circles. We have all had these conversations in private, but now we are bringing them into the workplace. It is pushing us to lead, it is igniting a fire under many of us to use our talents to help tilt our country in the right direction at this pivotal moment. It is pushing us to really question what we can do and whether we should be doing more as members of the legal profession.’

I didn’t know you were black

Traditionally, the legal profession has been a white-male-dominated industry. Despite more women entering law school than ever before, it is important to recognize that women of color continue to face a unique set of barriers.

‘I have lost count of the amount of times I have walked into a conference room to meet with a group of people who I have only emailed with or have spoken to on the phone. I have lost count of the amount of people who have said to me, “Oh, I didn’t know you were black? I talked to you on the phone, I didn’t know you were black?”, says Page.

Among the biggest challenges for women of color when navigating the legal profession are implicit and explicit biases. Page explains how these biases can often begin at law school.

‘Getting into Harvard Law School straight from college was a huge deal for me. It was just not the type of opportunity that was usually extended to people who looked like me, and came from where I came from.’

‘When I got there, I was so proud of myself and everything I had accomplished. But I immediately felt that my credentials and the validity of my presence were being questioned by my peers. There was an assumption that the only reason I was there was because I got an affirmative action spot. I was a black woman who did not come from an Ivy League, I did not go to a Exeter, therefore they could not accept that I was still their peer intellectually.’

Despite initially getting angry about having to face such assumptions, Page explains she was able to rise above being stereotyped. But having her credentials continually questioned was something she faced again when entering private practice.

‘Being told to work harder to fit in at a firm in order to position myself to get better opportunities was just one of many barriers I had to face,’ she recalls.

‘I have evolved to a point in my career where I am able to hit those issues head on, having risen up the legal ranks. Now I have the ability to impact people who might be having those types of experiences – by leading by example, and fostering the diversity and inclusion initiatives to help ensure the types of experiences I had become non-existent for the next generation. It has not always been an easy road, but being open and honest about my experiences lets other people know they are not alone.’

Where did you come from?

Despite running a legal team of approximately 30 people, Phyllis Harris, general counsel, chief compliance, ethics and government relations officer at the American Red Cross, shares how she has managed workplace prejudices.

‘In 2017, a former employer asked to meet an attorney who was visiting in-house counsel. I was to help him do the rounds and make sure he was across the assigned work. When I walked into the room this person – who is a good person – was talking to a colleague and the colleague stood up, because in terms of hierarchy I was higher in the ranks.

‘I stuck my hand out to introduce myself. He thought I was the assistant to someone in my organization. I was senior vice president, I had been practicing law at the time for more than 30 years, and I could not believe it. It was not just that he thought I was the assistant to the person who worked for me, he was confused and asked: “Where do you come from?”

‘As I tried to explain to him where I had come from, he remained confused. He asked me this question several times. What this showed me was that in 2017 he had very little interaction with women of color in the legal profession.’

In the end, Harris was able to develop a good rapport with the person and explain her position. Yet, she admits that this conversation illuminated a much larger issue. Although the legal profession has made some progress, women of color are more likely to be subjected to bias.

‘This is the change I am waiting for. We have brilliant people who come from extremely competitive law schools with incredible pedigrees. And it doesn’t matter where I came from – it matters that I am here now and this is who you are dealing with.’

Use your own imagination

Taking control of your career and being proactive is important for all legal professionals. Kimberly Banks MacKay, general counsel and corporate secretary at West Pharmaceutical Services, believes that means not letting others determine your opportunities.

‘Every successful woman, person of color, or anyone with a diverse background, has definitely experienced bias, either explicitly or implicitly. By way of example, early in my legal career, I was working at a company, and my own boss told me that I needed to accept the fact, that since I was now “a mother”, I was never going to be general counsel because anywhere.’

‘So given the clear bias, I believed him. I believed that I had no future at that company and got myself out of there. My point is I did not wait. Once I knew that my future would be limited by this person, I made the decision to leave. I have no problem assessing and accepting the realities around me and make my decisions based on that. Otherwise, I would be giving other people too much power over my career.’

MacKay is adamant that young lawyers should not internalize other people’s biases.

‘Early in my career, I saw a lot of talented lawyers become mired in self-doubt because of other people’s view of their capabilities. I was determined that was not going to be me.’

‘I recognize people have biases but, in the end, I am not going to let people’s perspectives limit the belief I have in myself. I like to say that you should  never let your career be limited to someone else’s imagination. Just because they can’t envision you as something or somewhere, it should not affect YOUR ability to  envision yourself in that way. So when somebody thinks I can’t do something, it just gives me fuel to make sure I get it done.’

For the love of law

Both law firms and companies have much to gain from employing diverse teams. Research indicates that diverse legal cohorts are more innovative and outperform teams that are not diverse.

‘Studies also show that companies that have diverse management teams are more profitable. This is a no-brainer. Why would any company or firm not readily diversify? With a diverse and inclusive workforce, you will have more voices of different cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds that can have input on a case, a law and/or policy,’ says Haden.

Yet attrition rates of minority attorneys have remained high. So many women of color have managed to beat the statistics and navigate difficult workplace cultures by making their own opportunities.

‘Being a female lawyer of color, there are challenges along the whole way. I believe you have to set your goal, believe in yourself and think about building a network around you with people who have done what you want to do,’ explains Wanji Walcott, chief legal officer and general counsel at Discover Financial Services.

‘It is also very helpful to have a broad network. You need to surround yourself with people who can give you tough love when you need it. But, more importantly, find people who you can trust and are willing to help you.

‘You have just got to keep at it and let people know of your goals and aspirations. One of three things will happen: they are either going to be supportive and help you; they are going to block you; or they are going to be neutral. You will be lucky if they are somewhere between neutral and helping you. If they are blocking you, you may not be in the right place.’

Minority GCs who have navigated their way to the top of the legal profession have been passionate about the law and about ensuring the next generation has fewer barriers to overcome.

A movement not a moment

For the women of color who have shared their journeys to the top, discussions around diversity, equality and inclusion are more than a passing fad, and it is an imperative for law firms and corporations to follow through with real action.

‘I think diversity and inclusion is trendy right now. It is almost like a fashion trend you find in Vogue. But the reality of the situation is that real change is going to take a lot more time, effort, investment and resources. All that work is going to take a lot longer than any trend will last,’ explains Page.

Walcott agrees that more work is needed to achieve sustainable and lasting change within the legal profession.

‘It really is a matter of sustaining that momentum now and making sure it wasn’t just a moment, but a movement that will be supported over time,’ she says.

Ultimately, while conversations around boosting representation have been important, many leading general counsel, such as Harris, are still waiting for the profession to make more lasting advancements.

‘What is happening now in the world has been a wake-up call for many in the legal profession. We have heard a lot of great statements, but I am still waiting on more definitive action,’ says Harris.

‘With Covid we have seen women leave the workforce because they are responsible for looking after children and homeschooling. It is important to recognize that this has been an important time to not only see the race piece come into play, but also the gender piece. When you put the gender and race piece together, it has been an even bigger wake-up call for black women.’

Real, sustainable change has been hard to implement, even when firms and corporations make great pronouncements about their commitment to D&I initiatives, says Haden.

‘Diversity and inclusion must be more than lip service and quoting what the company’s handbook and policy state. To recognize sustainable change and impact, corporations and law firms must be committed to walk the talk. We need more people to take the lead and more companies and firms need to work to ensure D&I is ingrained in the culture, and not just left on the shoulders of one person.’

Through real action, leaders in the legal profession have a responsibility to take individual ownership of their DE&I efforts. These efforts are key to engraining this movement into the culture of organisations to create change not only in the legal profession, but within the wider community and beyond.