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Victorian firms should report on ethnic diversity, LIV says

Under new recommendations by the Law Institute of Victoria, firms are being encouraged to report on and track ethnic diversity to ensure the profession breaks down discriminatory barriers.

user iconNaomi Neilson 03 December 2020 Big Law
Victorian firms should report on ethnic diversity
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A comprehensive report by Law Institute of Victoria (LIV) president Sam Pandya called on the profession to adopt real change to its approach to diversity. It also recommends firms should be asked s to collect and report on the organisations’ ethnic diversity to both the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner and the LIV regularly. 

Solicitors and barristers were asked questions around cultural diversity on a practising certificate renewal form which found more than 20 per cent were not born in Australia, and another 22 per cent spoke languages other than English. Among legal graduates, 34 per cent were born overseas and 50 per cent spoke a language other than English. 

The recommendation seeks to create a shift in the profession towards investing in and taking ownership of the importance of ethnic diversity at all levels of firms,” Mr Pandya said. “This ownership would encourage firms to regularly monitor their cultural diversity profile, policies and practices to address barriers to diversity.” 

The recommendations would also see firms compared with the industry standards and be celebrated for their achievements, which in turn would attract more talent. 

Mr Pandya said that a positive duty on employers to take measures to eliminate racial discrimination has existed in Victoria’s Equal Opportunity Act for 10 years, but it seems to have “little significant change” in ethnic diversity within the legal profession. 

He said it is concerning because ethnic diversity is important for the law to ensure that the most talented practitioners start and develop their careers; that discrimination from and against lawyers is eradicated; because some members of the community are not comfortable seeking advice; and for creating an effective, informed justice system. 

“When I first began working in Australian law firms, I was disappointed to see that the legal profession, particularly at senior levels, did not reflect its rich diversity. I was also concerned to see, when appearing in courts and tribunals, the members of the bar and judiciary, those who administer justice, were limited in diversity of experience,” Mr Pandya said. 

“I troubled me that the absence of an ethnic and cultural diversity in the profession and judiciary, or the perception of that, could, if not addressed, threaten a reputation of the profession and system to properly administer justice.”

Mr Pandya said the profession is ready for change but seems “at a loss” on how it can achieve it. He said he sees the report ‘Positive Action, Lasting Change’ as “one strand of the guidance required” that is asking the whole of the profession to invest more time into working to “take positive action into achieving lasting change”. 

Naomi Neilson

Naomi Neilson

Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly. 

You can email Naomi at: naomi.neilson@momentummedia.com.au

Comments (2)
  • Avatar
    If you already have data about diversity at the level of the profession, why capture that data at the level of an individual firm? The only purpose really would be to shame a firm which happens not to have an in-firm diversity which reflects the diversity of the profession as a whole.

    Everyone agrees that racial discrimination in hiring/promotion is a bad thing, but the fact that one individual firm does not reflect the racial diversity of the state as a whole, or even of the profession; does not demonstrate that the particular firm has discriminatory hiring practice. It could be plain dumb luck, or geography, or it could be that firm's particular practice area which might not attract people have have certain cultural norms. It could be also that entry into a top tier firm is ultra-competitive, and so that skews towards those young people who went to elite schools and had parents with the time and resources to devote to their education.

    I think the real purpose of this sort of data capture is to promote racial discrimination in hiring. It encourages firms to assess not only the talents or suitability of a candidate, but also whether the colour of their skin might help the firm improve its racial diversity data - to look better come reporting time.

    Perhaps it would be better to ask firms to capture data about what percentage of their lawyers grew up in public housing, or had parents who did not attend university, or were raised by one parent, or come from a violent home, or had parents that suffered substance abuse. Perhaps its better to stop obsessing about diversity which is only skin deep.
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    • Avatar
      Your comments remind me of a recent case in Japan, where a person committed suicide after being told by their manager that they were only hired to fill a quota, and therefore would not be given any meaningful work to do.

      If there is naming and shaming of firms on the basis of demographic data, then surely it will lead to unofficial (or even official?) quotas. I would hate to think the only reason I had a job was because of a factor completely unrelated to my ability to perform the work I am hired to do.
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