An ally is someone who is not a member of an underrepresented group but who takes action to support that group to help make their workplace more diverse and inclusive for all.
For workplaces to become truly inclusive it is up to people who hold positions of privilege to be active allies and to take responsibility for making changes that will help others be successful.
Allies at all levels can take action with simple, everyday efforts that make a real difference and in this series, we highlight some things that you can do to be an ally and to support your colleagues from underrepresented groups.
Gather the data and monitor attrition rates
It is important that firms use data as part of their ED&I strategy. Firms and organisations should carry out a self-assessment to identify what data is available and whether they are collecting the right data (or if they need to change/update the data that they are collecting). These changes should be implemented so that firms can measure, monitor and implement changes.
Firms may want to gather the data to monitor attrition rates. You should monitor and track on an annual basis the attrition rates for all underrepresented groups (in detail) for example:
- Male
- Female
- Other (inc different categories)
- White (inc different categories)
- Black (inc different categories)
- Asian (inc different categories)
- Other Ethnic Minority (inc different categories)
- Christian
- Buddhist
- Hindu
- Sikh
- Jewish
- Muslim
- Other religion
- Disabled
- Carer
- Sexual Orientation (inc different categories)
You should include all employees, qualified lawyers, other fee-earners and business support.
Once you have the data, they can explore what changes might need to be implemented if there are any issues. Of course Attrition Rates alone are not enough you will ask need to consider what are the reasons people leave, and do they point to issues that need to be addressed.
Read the full “How to be an Ally” series here.
