Event Summary: The Power of Privilege in the Scottish Legal Sector and Beyond by Diversity+

By Reva Naidu.

Reading time: Three minutes

On the 16th of January, Diversity+, one of Scotland’s leading diversity and inclusion consultancies, organised an online event analysing privilege within the Scottish Legal Sector and beyond. Diversity+ has collaborated with a variety of legal organisations, from firms like DLA Piper, Brodies, Burness Paull, Harper MacLeod, Shepherd + Wedderburn, Lindsays, Thorntons, Addleshaw Goddard and Morton Fraser MacRoberts, to LawCare, the Legal Services Agency, and educational institutes including the majority of Scottish Universities that offer the Law Degree. The event was hosted by Naeema Yaqoob-Sajid, the founder of Diversity+, driven by having experienced many barriers to entering the legal profession, culminating in working towards making the industry more inclusive. The event’s attendees ranged from Scottish lawyers, members of the Scottish Law Society, legal administrators, international lawyers, and law students, offering a well-rounded and informed discussion.

What privilege is, how it impacts our workplaces, and how comprehending privilege and its impact might support an organisation’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) objectives were all topics of discussion. A free demonstration of a cutting-edge Calculator of Privilege tool was also part of this program. In partnership with the Law Society of Scotland, this event introduced the EDI Certification Course.

Read this article to learn more about the importance of diversity in the legal profession: https://thestudentlawyer.com/2024/09/26/the-importance-of-diversity-in-the-legal-profession/

After a round of introductions, Naeema began with exploring what privilege is, according to The Oxford Dictionary’s definition – “a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group”. Attendees discussed how the perception of what privilege is may depend on each individual’s circumstances. In analysing who has privilege, the discomfort of admitting to being privileged was considered, as one would like to believe the reason for their success is their hard work and effort rather than having it attributed to an inherent characteristic.

A significant development in large, multinational corporations beginning to oppose EDI was brought up in the form of Mark Zuckerberg stating the need for more masculinity within these companies.

Then, the types of privilege were discussed, including gender, racial, disability, class, education, gender identity, sexuality, passing, cultural capital, and cultural privilege, along with shocking statistics – according to the 2023 McGregor-Smith Review, White employees were more likely to be promoted than all other minority ethnic groups, despite such groups having a higher likelihood of being overqualified for their respective positions. Another such shocking statistic was that only 16% of women received promotions in the UK, compared to 23% of men, in a 2023 report from HiBob.

While discussing how privilege may impact one’s workplace, attendees shared their experiences, explaining how everything from office temperatures and car-crash dummies were developed and maintained with men in mind, elaborating how even basic structures are ill-equipped to allow women to experience the world comfortably. Naeema recommended reading Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez, describing the ramifications of women being ignored during large-scale data collection. A lack of understanding privilege may cause division and polarisation within the workplace, bolster existing hierarchical standards, prevent genuine inclusion, and reinforce harmful stereotypes.

Focussing on privilege in the Scottish legal sector, Naeema spoke about how, on average, White and British lawyers earn 7% more than those of other groups, and how only 8% of women hold private equity partner positions, while the figure for men is 23%. Considering financial backgrounds, 90% of senior roles in the financial sector are held by those from a higher socio-economic background.

The event then looked at understanding and measuring privilege, stressing upon the importance of understanding bias, actively listening to one’s employees and colleagues, collecting data on privilege and using EDI tools, like Diversity+’s Calculator of Privilege tool. This tool provokes reflection on our own privilege and sparks vital understanding and action, helps organisations reframe and review their EDI goals. It gathers data on childhood, heritage, education, and ‘you today’ holistically, targeted towards individual needs for maximum impact. To take positive action using the collected information, sharing privilege, insisting on transparency and accountability, and being an authentic ally to those who may not have the same privileges was encouraged.

To learn more about inclusive practices in law, please read: https://thestudentlawyer.com/2024/09/26/what-are-some-inclusive-practices-in-law-and-how-can-firms-build-a-culture-around-them/

The event closed with a discussion about the importance of the LSS EDI Certification Course, with previous participants sharing their positive experiences of the course and how it has benefited their workplace. The particularly course is aimed at leaders and managers, it is next due to take place on Monday 31stMarch and Tuesday 1st April, offering a total of 20 hours of verifiable CPD for participants. A further course designed for junior members of the profession is also being planned.

To learn more about Diversity+, their resources, projects, and their impactful work, please visit https://www.diversityplus.info/projects.