The ‘tip of an iceberg’: survey reveals IP’s mental health concerns

Concerns are growing over challenges relating to mental health, social mobility, LGBTQ+ rights within the IP sector, according to WIPR Diversity’s latest survey.

The fourth annual global survey reviews the IP profession’s views and experiences of diversity and inclusion (D&I).

Nearly 90% of respondents said that people’s mental health had been adversely affected by COVID-19.

Of the 36% who said they had personally  experienced issues, nearly half felt they had not received enough support at their firm or organisation or declined to comment.

Reflecting on the results, Michael Hawkins, partner at Noerr, said: “We have a lot of pressure and work in IP, and are expected to work very long hours and deal with difficult and challenging situations.

“Inevitably, that is going to put more pressure on people’s mental health, and there was already a significant amount of burnout and people being silent about their struggles.”

COVID-19 effects

Mental health was a big issue for IP even before the pandemic, he added.

“The conversation around mental health in law is a big one, and what we have touched upon so far is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Alissa Naran, partner at Adams & Adams described the past two years as “traumatic”.

“The pandemic has caused partners and staff to lose their team spirit and connectivity with each other, which is something that we need to work harder at maintaining, especially with the implementation of hybrid working policies,” she explained.

“The disconnect needs to be restored to ensure a level of compassion and empathy for what people have had to endure in the last two years.”

The survey found that for many, the pandemic has compounded the problem posed by long working hours and pressurised environments.

While nearly 85% of respondents said they were in favour of hybrid/remote working patterns, around 47% said they had found the new status quo challenging while 48% reported working longer hours.

As Naran noted: “Most partners and staff in our firm have acknowledged that they still work longer hours than before the pandemic”.

D&I loses momentum

Others are concerned that as the threat posed by the pandemic has subsided, and as we slowly return to normality, that the emphasis on D&I rights may have weakened.

Angela Wilson, IP counsel at  The Hershey Company noted that the death of George Floyd in 2020 had a galvanising effect on D&I campaigns.

“Companies that perhaps had never really spoken out on D&I raised their voices and developed strategies addressing how to resolve those issues within their own working environment and cultures,” she said, while cautioning that “this momentum has slowed significantly”.

According to our survey, nearly half of those surveyed believe that coming from a minority ethnic background  remains a barrier to the profession, while fewer than two-thirds of respondents (62%) know of senior people who are from such backgrounds—the same figure recorded in 2021.

Less than half of respondents felt that the sector was doing well in improving diversity or were unsure about its progress. And despite the focus on D&I in recent years, a quarter of respondents believe or are unsure whether their senior management is fully committed to D&I—the same percentage as last year.

Discrimination: awaiting ‘meaningful action’

According to IP attorney and treasurer at IP Inclusive, Gordon Harris, many firms have diversity policies and introduce “lots of nice events and sessions”, but are yet to take “meaningful action”.

“Some firm leaders still don't see diversity as a benefit. They see it as a chore, and something that needs to be done, boxes that need to be ticked,” he says. “I'm not surprised by that statistics. It doesn't mean that it's not alarming, but it's not surprising.”

While 45% of participants in the survey had experienced discrimination, only 11% reported it.

“Inevitably, people who are minorities, and who have lived with experiences of discrimination, may feel that that is ‘just the way life is’. They need to be reassured that discrimination should not be tolerated,” explains Noerr’s Hawkins.

More than 10% of participants identified as being part of the LGBTQ+ community, while nearly 40% of respondents know of senior people who are members of the LGBTQ+ community—a  small increase of 4% from last year.

But the past two years have seen a number of setbacks for this  community, according to  Hawkins.

“There is a sense that rights are being attacked, that rights that have been hard won over the years are being taken away,” he reflects.

In the UK, Home Office statistics show hate crimes against people based on sexual orientation have doubled in four years. In 2016/17, there were 8,569 of these crimes recorded by police, but last year this figure reached 17,135.

In the legal profession, research by the  Law Society during LGBT+ History Month 2021, reported that over one-third (37%) of respondents said they had experienced homophobia, biphobia or transphobia in their workplace.

Social mobility

Other findings showed that more than half of participants (55%) agreed that having a less privileged background  remains a barrier to the profession.

This finding chimes with an  August 2022 study by the the City of London Socio-Economic Diversity Taskforce, that reported that employees from a family with a professional background are 43% more likely to reach a senior level than their working-class colleagues.

The Hershey Company’s Wilson is candid about the challenges that coming from a less privileged background presents. “It is challenging when you’re a first-generation lawyer like I am in my family. There are all sorts of factors that play into your success in your career, and social mobility is a barrier,” she explains.

“It was only later in my career when I realised that before I went to law school, I didn’t know a single lawyer growing up. And now looking back and seeing where I started and where I am now; that’s an amazing feat,” she reflects.

The above is an excerpt from a longer analysis of the findings and lawyers’ insights, which will be published in our upcoming WIPR Diversity 2022 this month.

This issue also includes WIPR’s Diversity Champions, Influential Women in IP, Trailblazers and in-depth analyses of topics including neurodiversity, mental health, ageism, authenticity, religious tolerance, the debate over D&I targets and much more…