Gender equality roundtables findings published

The findings of roundtables examining key gender equality issues and attended by people from across the legal profession have been published today by the Law Society of Scotland.

The gender equality roundtable reports focus on four key areas: the gender pay gap, flexible working, bullying and harassment, and bias. They detail the findings of 15 roundtables held in the second half of 2019 by organisations, including law firms, in-house teams and local faculties, across Scotland.

The roundtables continue the work begun by the Law Society’s Profile of the Profession research, published in late 2018, and offered participants a safe, structured place to candidly discuss their experiences and thoughts of these complex topics.

John Mulholland, President of the Law Society of Scotland, said: “The gender equality roundtable reports make for extremely interesting, if at times difficult, reading. They give a unique and telling insight into the experience of our members and highlight that, while progress has been made in the profession in the pursuit of gender equality, much remains to be done.

“I urge everyone in the profession to read the reports and consider how they and their organisations could change to help build a more inclusive profession.

“We face many challenges because of the coronavirus pandemic, so it is perhaps more important than ever that we continue this work. We have to make sure we maintain and build on the progress that we have made towards equality and inclusion.”

The Law Society’s Equality & Diversity Committee will consider indepth all the suggestions made by the roundtables and publish its plans in the summer of 2020.