Promoting Inclusion and Diversity Hiring for Law Firms: Strategies and Tips

Legal professionals in Canada are moving toward greater inclusion and diversity. More women are joining law firms, and more people of colour are entering the field. While this is a leap in the right direction, there’s still much work to be done.

In a March magazine feature, Amanda, a lawyer from Ontario, revealed how her boss discriminated against her. She was the only woman of colour in her office, which was the reason for her boss’ ire. Her story is just one of the many examples of the barriers lawyers face in their workplaces.

These collective experiences call for the need to set policies that promote equality, inclusion, and diversity and pulverize prejudices.

Why Do These Matter?

Inclusion and diversity are essential to a company’s success. They’re not only advantageous to employees but also to prospective hires.

These values help companies recruit a more diverse range of employees. This means they can hire people better suited for the job than those already there. This results in better teams, leading to higher company profits in the long run. A diverse workplace can also help law firms advocate for a multicultural market.

Whether working with an internal hiring team or with the best legal recruiters in Toronto, you must shape up. You must set up sound hiring practices to attract, persuade, and retain the best legal professionals. If you need help with these, check these tips out.

Tips on How To Promote Inclusion and Diversity

For inclusion to work, you need a diverse workforce that can contribute their unique perspectives and expertise. You need to see all the different views for your company to grow.

What does this mean for law firms? How can you promote inclusion and diversity in hiring for your firm?

Here are a few suggestions on how you can promote inclusion and diversity in your organization:

Identify And Prevent Your Unconscious Biases

Unconscious bias is the “lens through which we see the world.” This can affect our decision-making processes without us realizing it.

Identifying unconscious bias is essential because it can lead to hiring decisions that are not merit-based. With this on, you base your hiring policies on personal characteristics like race, ethnicity, gender identity, or religion.

You can correct this hiring practice by writing job descriptions without language that people would interpret as discriminatory. Also, try creating an inclusive environment for all employees, including those with disabilities or physical challenges.

Revisit Your HR Policies

There are countless ways to do this. First, ensure you widely advertise all job openings to remove barriers to applicant entry. For example, suppose you use a website like LinkedIn to advertise jobs. Include on the job description that the position is open to all applicants regardless of race or gender.

Second, make the interview process fair and equal. Hiring managers should not judge candidates based on their appearance or background information. Third, once you hire a candidate, ensure that they receive equal pay based on performance rather than gender or race. 

Also, Check – 6 Tips To Successfully Grow Your Law Firm

Ask Inclusive Interview Questions

You must ask interview questions that will give you a sense of the applicant’s personality and thoughts. However, how you phrase your questions can make all the difference in creating a diverse workplace.

Ask questions that allow applicants to talk about their life experiences. This can help you know who they are and how they fit into your organization’s culture.

Diverse candidates may have different educational or professional backgrounds than other candidates. It’s important to ask questions that allow them to demonstrate their strengths and knowledge. Be sure to ask open-ended questions and require a more in-depth answer than “yes” or “no.”

Having multiple people interview each candidate is a good idea, too. This can ensure that everyone can share their perspectives on the candidate’s qualifications, personality, and fitness for the job.

Value the People Who Want To Work With You

If you want the best team on board, you must also be an employer they’d like to work with. Value your applicants as much as you value your employees. Treat them with respect and dignity, and it won’t be hard to convince them to follow your lead. The best way to start doing all these is by making inclusive, fair, and diverse human resource policies.