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CCCA_V6No3_Diversity-FIN_CCCA 9/19/12 10:46 AM Page 30 Feature Everybody benefits when staff are set up to win, says Giardini, with 88 per cent of the men called to the bar in that time, the whose company has implemented a plan to make its workforce at LSBC report shows. all levels more reflective of the communities in which it operates. The diversity numbers “look good for young people, more That’s the feel-good, “a rising tide lifts all ships” argument for dismal farther on,” says Ms. Giardini. diversity. But there’s a strong business case to be made as well. The first step in any diversity plan is analyzing the current “Diversity is key to becoming an employer of choice,” says makeup of your company — not just how many people from Giardini. “Diverse workforces have greater productivity, creativity diverse communities are employed, but their relative status, salary, and development.” and career development opportunities, says the CBA’s Equity Diversity “isn’t the icing on the cake,” she adds. “It’s actually and Diversity Guide. An unusually high turnover among a par- the cake.” ticular group — for example, women — or wide salary differ- Clients are developing diversity plans of their own and are ences for lawyers from diverse groups should raise red flags. looking for legal teams that reflect their values, says Level Chan, Weyerhaeuser’s existing corporate culture formed the back- a partner at Stewart McKelvey in Halifax and vice-chair of the bone of its plan, says Ms. Giardini. The international forest prod- CBA’s Standing Committee on Equality. At the CLC, Mr. Chan ucts company has a “boy scout” culture — boys, first and fore- introduced a new CBA tool, the online Measuring Diversity in most, who are intent on following the rules. Having decided to Law Firms Guide, to help law firms measure their diversity lev- implement a diversity strategy, they would do it properly. els and also to gauge their cultural climate, to find out whether Companies with other cultures can successfully design and their own diverse staff find them welcoming. implement diversity strategies too, she says — it’s all a matter of “The legal profession is behind other professions” in accept- finding a way to work within and around the existing corporate ing members of visible minorities and other diversity groups into values and figuring out how to slot diversity into those key areas. the fold, he says, citing a Law Society of Upper Canada study Creating an inclusive environment starts in the C-suites but the that found 11.5 per cent of lawyers in Ontario are visible buy-in has to go all the way to the shop floor. The structures, poli- minorities, compared with 23 per cent of the general population; cies and practices in organizational life that recognize the existence 30 per cent of university graduates are visible minorities, as are of multiple perspectives — and signal the importance of learning 30.7 per cent of the province’s doctors. from those differences — must be created, says Ms. Giardini. Ms. Giardini says it’s not that the legal profession can’t attract No one suggests that will be easy. members of diverse communities, but that “the ‘stickiness’ for “There will be conflict,” she says ominously. non-traditional participants is low.” Developing a diversity strategy requires changes on three levels: For example, women are entering the legal profession in • Structural or functional greater numbers than men, but male lawyers still outnumber • Business their female counterparts, with women representing just 34 per • Workforce cent of all practising lawyers. Of the women called to the bar in Features of an inclusive organization include a commitment 2003, only 66 per cent were still practising in 2008, compared from leadership to the importance of diversity — at all levels; 30 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association FALL 2012