Diversity and inclusion highlights Chambers Europe 2021
We are delighted to share the Diversity and Inclusion stats across the Chambers Europe 2021 guide. Read about how we continue to drive D&I across our rankings and submissions.
The Diversity and Inclusion of Chambers Europe
The 2021 edition of Chambers Europe is our most comprehensive guide yet. As our research process continuously evolves with the latest technology, sector developments and client needs, we are delighted to now include more in-depth coverage of ranked firms and individuals than ever before.
How Chambers have navigated Covid-19 and Brexit during the Europe research
While Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic dominated the news, a key area of progress has been the increased awareness of diversity and inclusion across Europe. We have updated the submission document template to include diversity statistics, enabling us to clearly measure the presence of diverse lawyers in each department within a law firm for the first time. This information increases our understanding of the demographics of practice areas, enabling us to better reflect the diversity of the profession.
These changes to our research have been carried out in conjunction with all research teams receiving D&I training and addressing the impact of gendered language in editorial. This is part of an ongoing initiative to enhance our research processes and ensure they are free from unconscious bias.
The D&I stats for Chambers Europe 2021
As a consequence of this positive action taken by our editorial, D&I and leadership teams, there has been a 10.7% increase in the total number of women ranked across the Europe Guide from 2017-2021. Our findings show that in 2021 women lawyers hold 22% of all individual rankings, an increase of 2% from 2020. The results have been positive, but we know there remains a long way to go to ensure our rankings are reflective of the diversity of the profession.
There have also been a number of highlights in our Europe-focused D&I and pro bono work over the last year, with six awards to be included in this years Chambers Europe Awards, including Outstanding Firm for D&I and Outstanding Firm for Pro Bono. The awards take place on Thursday, 22nd April and you can find out more here.
In addition we held a fantastic pro bono webinar, ˜Pro bono assistance during COVID-19: how to help the European cultural arts, in association with De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, including speakers from Bloomberg L.P. the Dutch Royal Concertgebouw and De Balie.
We have been delighted to see an increased focus on D&I and pro bono from many firms across Europe and we will continue to raise awareness and share best practice for D&I and pro bono through events and digital content. Similarly, collaborating to collect and track D&I data is essential to making progress in this respect, and particularly for our rankings to reflect the breadth of talent in the legal profession across the globe. By working together on this vital movement, together we can achieve this goal.
