Concerns over the diversity of the profession are hardly new, featuring prominently as far back as the findings of the Royal Commission on Legal Services in 1979. More recently, the Milburn findings on fair access to the professions echoed the sense that the legal profession must do better.
The profession has demonstrated a commitment to doing just that, which has manifested in a range of initiatives aimed at removing barriers to entry and progression. This has resulted in some encouraging signs at entry level: more than half of new solicitors and barristers admitted or called in 2009 were women, while more than a quarter were from a black or minority ethnic (BME) background. However, despite these steps forward on entry, progress is diluted later on as the senior levels of the profession remain dominated by white men.
