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Diversity levels across the legal sector – from partnership in private firms, through to new recruits fresh out of law school or even in-house legal functions – suggest that there are still barriers to entering and progressing through the industry for certain groups and demographics of people.

The people in any business are the critical element in providing a competitive edge. As you will see in this report which contains excellent examples of best practice, a diverse workforce does not just make good business sense, it makes societal sense as well. It’s the smart thing to do.

In the interviews we conducted for this report much of the strategic engagement or the initiatives undertaken were done at a company- wide level. However, some initiatives were specific to legal teams and were often engaged in addressing inequalities in legal education and hiring practices, particularly at law firms as we discussed in regards to the pipeline.

Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, makes the strategic case for the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, in particular its gender balance plans.

A key challenge around initiatives is making them an integral part of the culture; not just window-dressing or box-ticking. There is a perception among those active in the field that initiatives without depth can actually have a detrimental effect as these ghettoise the activities of diversity and inclusion.

To start at the beginning, why bother about diversity and inclusion? What does this actually have to do with the main business of most corporations in modern capitalism – making money?