Posted by on Friday, June 27, 2014
Welcome to this week’s Diversity Dish and Happy Friday! This
week’s Diversity Dish is short and sweet. We’re featuring an open letter from
Debra L. Raskin, the President of the New York City Bar Association. Read on for more details and Raskin’s thoughts
on diversity within the profession! Enjoy this week’s Diversity Dish, Happy Friday
and if you aren’t already, follow us on Twitter @CourtneyDredden.
6.23.14 On the heels of the New York City Bar Association’s (“NYCBA”) gala fundraiser honoring the 2014 Diversity and Inclusion Champion Award Winners, Raskin reflected on ten years of the NYCBA Diversity Benchmarking Reports. Raskin reports on what we already know: that women and minorities are lacking at the leadership levels in law firms. However, Raskin adds: “That said, what the numbers don’t reflect is a shift in culture, a “new normal” where there is significant acceptance of the “business case” for diversity. This change in culture is noted by many of the leaders of the legal profession who were interviewed for the report:
“There is a much greater recognition that diversity is a given. Firms are moving forward and trying to redesign and adjust themselves to the ‘new normal’ and diversity is part of that conversation, even given various market realities. When firms are pulling back in a lot of ways, they are not pulling back on diversity.”
Raskin continues to note that according to the most recent Diversity Benchmarking Report, most white men still fail to see the relevance of diversity to them. This is an area where more work must be done. Raskin ends her letter on an optimistic note, hoping that new societal norms will help to increase diversity amongst all levels at law firms. We can’t help but be optimistic as well!
