Law firms are grappling with how to improve diversity numbers. While some have D&I plans, others do not. The American Lawyer’s 2021 Diversity Scorecard, which records the average number of full-time minority attorneys at top law firms, reports only 18.5% of all attorneys are minorities, and only 10.9% of all partners are minorities. According to the ABA Lawyer Profile of the Legal Profession, women and minorities made only minimal gains in joining law firm ranks over the past decade. The percentage of women lawyers increased to 37% in 2021 from 33% in 2011. Black and Native American representation in the legal industry decreased slightly during the last 10 years, while Hispanic and Asian lawyers gained less than a percentage point each. Multiracial people made up 2% of all lawyers, and Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders comprised 0.3%.

The Bloomberg Law 2021 Legal Operations Survey indicated that 57% of organizations surveyed have metrics in place to gauge diversity. That’s the good news. The not-so-good news is 43% of those surveyed do not currently have metrics in place. Of even more interest, Workhuman in “5 New Ideas to Extend DE&I Beyond a One-Time Training” noted, 64% of CHROs are now held accountable for DE&I progress. And yet, research from Josh Bersin suggests 80% of HR professionals view their companies as “going through the motions” when it comes to DE&I—seeing no significant impact from the organization’s actions.