b'PEOPLE| LEGAL SECTOR| 2022SUSTAINABILITY INSIGHTDIVERSITY AND INCLUSIONSixty-three per cent of firms promoted their commitment by publishing their diversity policy through their websites or similar means, an increase from 58 per cent in 2020. This increase in the promotion of their positions and commitment to diversity can benefit firms through a greater level of stakeholder engagement and oversight.This promotion of the firms positions and its commitment to diversity can benefit its programs through greater stakeholder engagement and oversight. Sixty per cent of firms promoted their commitment by publishing their diversity policy through their websites or similar means, a slight decrease from 63 per cent in 2021.All reporting firms have implemented formal governance structures to allocate responsibility for their policy and reporting progress, with an increase in the involvement of both partners and committees. Fifty-nine per cent of firms assigned accountability to a partner, and 73 per cent established committees to assist with the planning and delivery of actions across the firm.Only 17 AusLSA members are listed by the Law Council of Australia as having formally adopted their Diversity and Equality Charter in which law firms publicly commit to principles of diversity and equality which is unchanged from 2021. In addition to reporting on law firms management of diversity and inclusion, the AusLSA framework separately focuses on the different elements of Gender Equality and LGBTIQ+ Inclusion as well as the associated areas of Flexible Working, Indigenous Reconciliation, and Psychological Wellbeing. These areas provide additional depth and insight into the commitments and performance in creating a workplace that supports inclusion and benefits from diversity.Challenges and OpportunitiesLeadership needs to develop a deep and sincere understanding of the issues that affect cultural diversity and inclusion. They then need to set clear expectations and provide consistent rewards and recognition to role models who demonstrate leading behaviours. This leadership role needs to progress into mentoring and coaching others. Mentoring programs can be developed that include peer-to-peer mentoring from the grassroots up to senior management.Even as the cultural diversity of the Australian population increases, government, corporates, and law firms remain disproportionally represented by CEOs and Partners from Anglo-Celtic backgrounds. For example, the last Australian census showed that ten per cent of Australians had an Asian background, but a 2015 survey by the Asian Australian Lawyers Association of six large firms and forty-four medium firms found that none had Asian Australian Partners, and where they were present, they made up only three per cent of Partners across all firms. A recent survey of 11 of Australias most prominent law firms polled 5,000 staff from across Australia and found that while 20 per cent of non-partner lawyers and 25 per cent of law graduates were of Asian background, just 8 per cent of partners were Asian. The results on Indigenous representation were even more startling, with less than 1 per cent of those polled identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.Only twenty-five per cent of law firms in the 2016 Acritas Diversity study were rated as very diverse. While we can measure activity in diversity programs, ongoing progress in this space is needed to keep pace with diversity in the broader Australian community.Unconscious bias and strong role models must be addressed in firms recruitment and promotion processes. Traditional approaches can favour those from dominant gender, racial, social, and cultural backgrounds, which perpetuates existing diversity imbalances. Blind recruitment is growing in popularity in addressing unconscious bias. In blind recruitment, at least part of the assessments is done without identifying elements from candidates applications such as name, gender, school, or address.The Diversity Council of Australia suggests in Building Inclusion: An Evidence-Based Model of Inclusive Leadership that while the Australian workforce is very diverse by world standards, the real challenge for workplaces and managers is to improve the inclusion of diverse individuals and groups and provide a set of critical skills that are required to manage and lead an inclusive workplace. Australian Human Rights Commission Leading for Change guidelines identify three clear priorities that law firms should include in their strategies to generate changes in diversity:Leadership and investmentMeasuring and reporting, andA culture of identifying and confronting biases.30'