IBA launches mentorship toolkit to help female lawyers
A “toolkit” that aims to empower female legal professionals and address the gender representation gap at senior levels has been launched by the International Bar Association.
Prepared by IBA’s Women Lawyers’ Committee, the Mentorship Toolkit provides detailed guidance for law firms on how to get started with a mentorship programme.
The IBA cites Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, which found that mentoring programmes boosted minority representation at management level by between 9 and 24%, a higher rate of increase compared to other diversity initiatives. The programmes also dramatically improved promotion and retention rates for minorities and women from 15% to 38% when compared to non-mentored employees.
The toolkit provides a baseline for firms that may not have the resources to put together a mentoring programme. It is detailed enough for firms to use by themselves, without the need for further external consultation, and general enough that it will work across continents despite cultural differences. IBA members, human resources professionals and diversity consultants around the world were consulted in its creation, providing experiences of what has and, equally important, what has not worked.
Key advice from the Toolkit includes:
- Create a mentorship committee: Firms should have a committee in place that will follow up on the design, execution, results and analysis of the programme and to which participants can appeal.
- Set a clear structure: Defining the core elements of the programme, such as the number of sessions required, the frequency and length of meetings and how many pairs will join is key to success.
- Match mentors and mentees carefully: Both mentors and mentees should be subject to an application process to assess their suitability for the programme. Mentees should not be in a direct subordinate relationship to mentors and should not be part of the same practice group.
- Prepare topics for discussion in advance: Provide reading and/or video materials for both mentors and mentees to prepare for each session. Topics for discussion could include: client management, being part of a team, unconscious bias, diversity, and managing working life as a parent.
Lise Lotte Hjerrild, chair of the IBA Women Lawyers’ Committee ('IBA WLC'), stated: “Steadfast commitment is required to achieving the goal of gender, and opportunity, parity, but it is not an insurmountable task. Our new toolkit provides all the guidance necessary to start a mentorship programme at an organisation’s own pace on its path to true equality, but diversity policies need to be taught and integrated throughout the organisation to be a success.
“Our goal at the IBA WLC is to help level out the playing field in the legal profession. The toolkit will help with this ambition, aiding both mentees and mentors in the process and benefitting a firm in its entirety. The IBA WLC urges firms to make use of this toolkit to empower their female employees.”