"You can’t be what you can’t see" – a look at diversity at the senior end of the legal profession

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Why are we still discussing diversity?

Diversity within the UK legal sector has long been a topic of conversation among practitioners and students alike. The profession has been heavily criticised for not evolving with society or being representative of the diversity within the UK. Over the past decade, there have been a flurry of initiatives – from diversity reports, mentoring, outreach programmes and scholarships – to respond to these deep-rooted issues. However, the crucial question remains: have we made enough progress? Regrettably, the answer is no. So, what needs to change?

At entry and junior levels, diversity has gradually improved, with ethnic minorities becoming more visible. Unfortunately, this hasn’t translated into presence at a more senior level. Many people from minority backgrounds encounter what can be described as a ‘cement ceiling’ – an established barrier preventing them from advancing on the professional ladder. 

The power of belonging

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) must go beyond buzzwords, lip service and superficial initiatives. True diversity in the legal profession can strengthen client relationships and enhance public confidence in the justice system. Barrister Andréa Awoniyi describes her experience as an aspiring barrister: “I knew that I wanted to advocate on behalf of others and use my voice to help marginalised and underrepresented groups.” Andréa highlights that even as a student she recognised the importance of having a diverse profession: “The Bar should reflect the society it seeks to serve.”

Such representation allows trust to follow. There are important discussions being had about how having a variety of life experiences and approaches to legal practice can improve the system’s ability to deliver more nuanced and fairer outcomes. Diversity fosters innovation, broadens understanding and improves the effectiveness of the law itself, while a lack of diversity at a senior level stalls systemic progress and results in a justice system that risks alienating those it serves. 

Seeing someone who looks like you in a senior role can profoundly shape how aspiring lawyers view their own potential. Newly qualified solicitor Bushra Jalil describes her experience as a student. Bushra states: “I rarely saw people from similar backgrounds or who looked like me. So, it was very easy to wonder whether it was even a space for me. However, sometimes just seeing that one person who comes from a similar background or understands your barriers can make a huge difference.” 

Find out what Yetunde Dania from Trowers & Hamlins says about DE&I – and the role visibility plays – in this Practice Area Profile on LawCareers.Net.

What opportunities are out there now?

There are some fantastic diversity initiatives that have developed over the years, such as law firm/chambers DE&I programmes, WCAN, 10,000 Black Interns, InterLaw Diversity Forum, upReach and the introduction of contextual recruitment.

Elsewhere, CILEX (The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives), a professional body made up of legal professionals, is also helping to make the sector more inclusive. It pioneered the non-university route into law and introduced the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ), which provides various levels of legal qualification. CILEX’s recently appointed President Sarah Fowler highlights CILEX as an institute that represents “a profession that rewards resilience, opens doors and sees talent for what it is, not where it comes from”. In addition, CEO Jennifer Coupland explains that “CILEX plays a critical role in the legal profession, widening access to justice, and opening careers in law to people from a wide range of backgrounds”.  

What does the data show?

Looking at the diversity data published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, overall representation in the legal sector has improved across the board. However, such developments have been moderate, with advancements happening at a slow pace, particularly at the high-ranking levels. This raises questions about the level of tangible progress, support, initiatives and effective change still needed.  

The presence of women in law firms rose by 5% from 48% in 2015 to 53% in 2023. However, when these statistics are broken down further, female presence drops at senior stages, with only 32% of full-equity partners being women. Since 2015, the number of female barristers has also risen by 5.3 percentage points, according to the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB) Diversity at the Bar 2024 report. However, the report also highlights that women still accounted for only 21.1% of King’s Counsel (KCs) in comparison to the percentage of female barristers at the Bar (41.2%), highlighting the great disparity between the proportion of women at the Bar in general and those at more senior levels. Although female representation among lawyers has steadily grown, their advancement into senior roles remains a problem, with persistent underrepresentation at the top. 

In addition, while the percentage of lawyers from minority ethnic backgrounds has grown from 14% of solicitors in 2015 to 19% in 2023, only 8% of partners at the largest law firms identify as coming from minority ethnic backgrounds. Similarly, the BSB report shows that 17.3% of barristers at the Bar are from a minority ethnic background, whereas the percentage of barristers from a minority ethnic background at 15 or more years of call drops to 15.9%. Plus, just 10.1% (excluding non-responses) of KCs are from such backgrounds, which mirrors the trends in law firms, where diversity declines at the more senior end.

Recent findings also reveal slow progress when it comes to the number of Black judges – a number that has remained unchanged for the past decade at just 1%. According to the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) 2025 diversity of the judiciary report: “Black representation among applicants was higher than it was in the eligible pool, but representation dropped subsequently at the shortlisting and recommendation for appointment stages.”

Chair of the Bar Council, Barbara Mills KC, says: “Every year we are told that there is gradual progress being made towards a more diverse judiciary, but it’s far too slow for Black lawyers and this is no longer good enough.”

Lawyers have continued to speak candidly about the barriers within the profession. As reported in Counsel Magazine, Leslie Thomas KC  states: “If you believe your chambers are ‘colour-blind’ and treat everyone the same, then you have a problem. That mindset is the problem.

“‘Colour blindness’ does not work in a system where everyone at the top of judicial power is white, everyone in the ‘best’ chambers is white, and the two ‘best’ universities in the country have a lack of Black entrants. If you are a person of colour, just seeing this would set alarm bells going.”

In addition, in Mills’ reflection on the pressure facing minority leaders, she says: “You have, on the one hand, those who may be challenged by the fact that you’re a first and the position isn’t normally filled by someone who looks like you. And on the other side, you have the hope of those who do look like you. You want to do it well so that those who can’t imagine the role being filled by you are persuaded and those who look to you to do something different and magical in the space are fulfilled.”

These perspectives reveal the subtle, yet persistent cultural exclusion of those from minority backgrounds and the lack of visible role models that can cause disillusionment and consequently limit retention and progression.

What’s stopping progression?

The lack of upwards growth raises serious questions about the real impact of current support and initiatives desperately still needed. There are several reasons that could be used to potentially explain the disparity between visibility at a senior level compared to a junior level.

Stuck on tradition

These range from a continued over reliance on recruitment of graduates from more ‘traditional’ Russell groups universities, despite efforts to tackle this, to non-inclusive workplace cultures and unconscious bias influencing promotions.

Unhelpful myths

There are harmful narratives suggesting that diversity undermines meritocracy, falsely implying that inclusion lowers standards. This myth adds pressure for minority individuals and, seemingly, merit-based promotions frequently favour those with privileged educational and social backgrounds.

Access and structural failures

Ethnic minorities are also less likely to have access to informal social networks that can help with opportunities, career guidance and support professional advancement. Such exclusion can also emphasise a lack of belonging in these spaces.

Bushra adds that efforts to increase representation need to be sincere and that there needs to be meaningful engagement in implementing effective strategies to eliminate barriers. “Allyship from senior figures and those not from minority backgrounds is crucial because those from minority backgrounds can’t do this on their own.”

A change is going to come?

The next step is to discuss actions to  properly address this problem. Judicial appointments are a clear area that require overdue reform. The objectives set in the Judicial Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Update 2024, particularly regarding Black judges, must be met. Progress from these actions must be tracked and the next steps identified – it must go beyond the eloquent writing.

Scholarships and outreach programmes

Allowing greater access to, and knowledge of, scholarships aimed at Black aspiring lawyers, as well as sponsorship networks that connect emerging and junior lawyers to more senior and seasoned professionals, could help to shift the entrenched dynamics at the Bar and among lawyers generally. Scholarships and outreach programmes could also prove more effective by enabling a greater age range of applicants to help widen the pool.

Transparency and reporting

Law firms could benefit from transparent promotion criteria and clearer paths to reaching partnership. Across the sector, data collection could be improved. Ethnicity and disability pay gaps should be reported with the same urgency as gender pay gaps – and must be dealt with as seriously.

Flexible working and mental health support

There are impressive groups such as mental health charity LawCare that provide mental health support for the legal sector – the charity offers free, confidential emotional support, peer support and information for people working in the legal sector. In addition, implementing flexible working as the standard, and not the exception, could help to empower more inclusivity.

Final thoughts

Without consistent retention and progression at upper ranks, diversity becomes decorative and risks being performative, instead of transformative. We’ve seen modest advancement in representation – we have more women, more ethnic diversity, more individuals declaring themselves as having a disability – but the retention ceiling persists. The authentic, structural, systemic change is still desperately needed in the legal profession. Only then will the leadership in law authentically reflect the society it serves.

Have you visited LawCareers.Net’s dedicated Diversity hub, sponsored by Gowling WLG (UK) LLP? It’s updated regularly to keep future lawyers in the know regarding what law firms, chambers and legal education providers are doing to remove existing barriers and work towards a more diverse and inclusive profession.