Diversity data will be collected as part of the annual Practising Certificate (PC) renewal process for the first time this year, in order to support and advance the Law Society of Scotland’s equality and diversity work. Solicitors will be asked for pseudonymised information on their ethnicity, religion, disability, social background and sexual orientation, as part of the PC renewal process, in addition to data already collected on gender and age.
The Law Society worked closely with representative groups, including the Scottish Ethnic Minorities Lawyers’ Association (SEMLA) and The Glass Network, to ensure that the information collected was as comprehensive as possible.
SEMLA’s Sheekha Saha commented: “Since SEMLA was founded in 2017, we have strongly pressed for collection of this data. It is vital that that there is a clear understanding of the diversity of the legal profession generally and particularly to contextualise and measure the equality, diversity and inclusion work being undertaken by the Law Society, legal firms and organisations with in-house legal teams. We are delighted that the Law Society responded to SEMLA’s call to collect this data. It is a crucial step in our collective journey towards establishing a more diverse legal profession in Scotland. The data will allow SEMLA and the Society to develop more evidence-based actions to address the issues facing ethnic minorities in the profession and be transparent about our progress in the coming years. We look forward to seeing the collated data when available and to continuing our work with the Society and others to build progress from the soon-to-be established baseline."
Komentáře