Despite a flurry of new protective rules on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and social backgrounds having come into play in recent years, diversity is still one of the most contentious issues facing law firms and remains steadfastly at the top of many firms’ ‘to do’ lists.
Clifford Chance is one of the few firms to have made an effort to improve its diversity statistics by launching a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender network.
This Diversity Special Report examines the impact of such diversity initiatives on staff morale and retention. It also points out that such programmes are not only socially beneficial, they can also help win new clients and increase profit.
However, on the flipside, the report also raises the argument of whether firms are taking positive discrimination to such a level that those practices may actually be becoming discriminatory in themselves.
