English Bar reports improved diversity numbers, but progress is slow
Levels of diversity in the Bar of England and Wales are increasing in line with the wider population, but senior lawyers are more likely to be white and male.
These are among the findings of the 2019 Diversity at the Bar report, published by the Bar Standards Board on January 31.
According to the latest available data, a “snapshot” of Bar demographics measured in December 2019, the number of women at the Bar continues to inch higher.
Women constitute 38% of the Bar (an increase of 0.6% in 2018), compared to 50.2% of the working age population, the figures revealed.
Only 16.2% of Queens’ Counsel (QCs) are women, rising from 15.8% the previous year.
Women make up 54.8% of total pupils at the Bar.
The proportion of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) barristers has risen to 13.6%, compared to 14.4% of the working age population. This is an increase of 0.6% from December 2018, which marks the biggest year-on-year increase since the first Bar diversity report in 2015.
Similarly to women, however, minority ethnic barristers are under-represented at senior level, with only 8.1% of QCs being from BAME backgrounds.
The report was less able to accurately measure the number of disabled people at the Bar, and the socio-economic background of respondents, it said.
One metric used to gauge the socio-economic background of respondents was the type of school attended.
The number of barristers who were educated at independent schools (which refer to private, fee-paying schools) is disproportionate compared to the wider population.
Nearly a fifth (17%) of the Bar, including 21% of QCs, were educated at independent schools, which currently educate approximately 7% of all children in England.
The data also suggest other significant barriers to becoming a barrister, such as childcare responsibilities.
Only 13.3% of respondents said they were the primary carer of a child under the age of 18, compared to 36% and 39% of “economically active” men and women, respectively.
Just 53.7% indicated whether they had a disability or not. In total, 3.1% of the Bar declared a disability. The UK Office for National Statistics estimates that 13.4% of the employed working age population has a disability, indicating that law is less accessible to disabled people than other professions.
Last week, a survey suggested that more than half of disabled solicitors and paralegals believed their career prospects were inferior to those of non-disabled colleagues.
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