Withey, Carol ORCID: 0009-0001-6415-336X (2024) Encouraging diversity in the legal sector. In: SHIFT Conference 2024, 10th - 11th Jan, 2024, University of Greenwich, London. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

In 2021 Carol Withey represented the University of Greenwich on the 'This is Purpose' Project: 'Levelling Up Law'. The 15 participating city law firms revealed recruitment and progression statistics evidencing a shocking lack of diversity within the law. In one firm, of the 151 staff surveyed, only 27% of partners were women, with even less at senior level. Over 79% of lawyers were white, and of the 72% of lawyers educated in the UK, only 52% had attended state schools. Only 46% of vacation schemes places were taken by state school educated university students. The above project inspired Carol to create an ED&I /skills initiative for University of Greenwich law students: The Law Employment Mentor Programme. This programme is extra-curricular in order to maximise participation. It consists of subject-based law and practice mentor schemes delivered in collaboration with law firms and legal organisations. In 2022, Carol started supporting law colleagues to develop mentor schemes relating to their own legal discipline and area of expertise. In 2023 over 70 law students, and over 40 lawyers are participating in the Mentor Programme. The programme has now been renamed the Law and Criminology Employment Mentor Programme and has been extended to criminology students, with the first scheme for criminology students piloting this year. Further schemes are being developed. This presentation will explain how the Law Employment Mentor Programme works. The model adopted is inclusive, and students selected represent our diverse cohort of students at Greenwich. The programme is also designed to bridge the gap between academic theory and legal practice, and the model can be adapted to other disciplines. Trudie Amarh and Dr Renginee Pillay will join Carol to provide reflections on their own mentor schemes.

Item Type:	Conference or Conference Paper (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	diversity; mentoring
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) K Law > K Law (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > School of Law & Criminology (LAC)
Related URLs:	Organisation
Last Modified:	07 Jun 2024 12:54
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/47378

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