Gender breakdown of trainees
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please confirm the number of Trainee Solicitors on training contracts broken down by age, gender and nationality.
If this shows mainly women, please confirm what measures you have in place to try to equalise the number of male and female trainees and how you can square this with your non-discrimination and gender equality duties.
Yours faithfully,
Ian Tyes
Dear Mr Tyes,
Request for information under the Law Society's Freedom of Information
Code of Practice
Thank you for your email which was received on 5th March 2009.
The Law Society is not a designated public authority under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 but it has adopted its own voluntary Code of Practice
(link below). Your request for information is being considered in
accordance with this Code of Practice.
[1]http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/documents/d...
Your request was as follows:
"Please confirm the number of Trainee Solicitors on training
contracts broken down by age, gender and nationality. If this shows
mainly women, please confirm what measures you have in place to try
to equalise the number of male and female trainees and how you can
square this with your non-discrimination and gender equality
duties."
I am currently dealing with your request and will respond by 2nd April
2009 which is 20 working days from 5th March (the date your request was
received).
Yours sincerely
Bob Stanley
Information Compliance Manager - Legal Services
The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL
t: 020 7242 1222 (x4117)
f: 020 7320 5685
www.lawsociety.org.uk
P Go green - keep it on screen
Dear Mr Tyes,
Further to my email of 5th March please find below the response to your
request for information under the Law Society's Freedom of Information
Code of Practice.
Your request was as follows:
"Please confirm the number of Trainee Solicitors on training
contracts broken down by age, gender and nationality. If this shows
mainly women, please confirm what measures you have in place to try
to equalise the number of male and female trainees and how you can
square this with your non-discrimination and gender equality
duties."
I have attached a table to this email breaking down trainee solicitors on
training contracts as requested.
<<Ian_Tyes_information.xls>>
As you suggest, the gender breakdown shows that there are more women on
training contracts than men. This reflects students studying and passing
the Legal Practice Course. We have the following existing measures.
. Rule 6 of the Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007 requires that
solicitors do not discriminate as employers / potential employers and
therefore applies to the recruitment of trainees. Breach of the Code is a
serious disciplinary matter.
. Solicitors' firms are monitored for compliance with Rule 6 by the
SRA's Practice Standards Unit
. Organisations authorised to take trainees are also monitored by
Training Contracts Monitors
. Regarding the gender balance on the Legal Practice Course,
providers of the courses are authorised and validated by the SRA against
criteria including standards relating to equality and diversity.
In addition, we are currently developing the requirements on organisations
authorised to take trainees, including specific guidance on recruitment,
in order to highlight to prospective employers their duties in relation to
equality and diversity and the Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007.
Yours sincerely
Bob Stanley
Information Compliance Manager - Legal Services
The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL
t: 020 7242 1222 (x4117)
f: 020 7320 5685
[1]www.lawsociety.org.uk
P Go green - keep it on screen
References
Visible links
1. http://www.emailhosts.com/ct/ctcount.php...
Dear Bob Stanley,
In view of the likely provisions in the new Equality Bill whereby employers can discriminate in favour of a lower represented group, will you be advising firms that when this becomes law, they will then be able to discriminate in favour of male trainees?
Yours sincerely,
Ian Tyes
Dr Helen Bright left an annotation ()
Ian, presumably, exam results do matter. Do you have a link to the draft document Equality Bill, please?
Dr Helen Bright
Ian Tyes left an annotation ()
The equality Act 2010 is now law. s159 relates to discriminating in favour of under-represented groups. Here is a link to the Government's comments on introduction - this section is due to become law in April 2011 apparently.
http://www.equalities.gov.uk/equality_ac...
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Ian Tyes left an annotation ()
Just an acknowledgement