In 2013, the Annual Practice Declaration was amended to enable the Law Society to learn more about the demographic composition of the legal profession in British Columbia and consider ways to advance our commitment for the legal profession to reflect the diversity of our province.
Each year, lawyers are asked to volunteer information about themselves anonymously. The survey questions focus on broad categories of self-identity – Indigenous, visible minority, sexual orientation and identity, and persons with a disability. The information provided by lawyers helps the Law Society better understand demographic trends, identify barriers that some groups face for entering and remaining in the profession, and develop programs and initiatives to promote equity, diversity and inclusivity in the legal profession.
Now that we have had six years of complete data from the self-identification survey, there is an opportunity to analyze the data and see whether there are any notable trends.
Comparing 2019 to 2013
One trend that can be seen over the past six years is the increase in the percentage of BC lawyers who identify themselves with one of four diverse groups. The largest shift can be seen in the growing percentage of lawyers who identify as a visible minority, person of colour or come from a racialized background, although the percentages of lawyers who identify as Indigenous, LGBT or a person with a disability have all increased slightly over the past five years.. The number of lawyers who say that they do not identify with any EDI characteristics has decreased.
Tracking our progress in promoting equity, diversity and inclusivity
While these are positive developments, the legal profession in BC still has a ways to go to reflect the diversity of the communities in which they live and work. While just over 4.6% of BC’s population is Indigenous (First Nations, Metis, or Inuit), Indigenous lawyers comprise only 2.7% of the BC bar.
As encouraging as the increasing number of lawyers who identify as visible minorities, persons of colour, or racialized may be, in a province where visible minorities make up 28.8% of the population, individuals from these same communities comprise only 16.15% of the BC bar.
Over the past six years, the percentage of BC lawyers identifying themselves as LGBT has grown by almost one percent and now sits at 3.52% of lawyers. Data for LGBT from the most recent Census is incomplete and does not allow for a demographic comparison of the legal profession and the broader population in BC.
The percentage of the legal profession in BC who identify as persons with a disability has increased year over year. The census data does not allow for an accurate comparison of this demographic of the legal profession and the broader BC population.
Another trend that can be seen in the APD survey responses is the relatively unchanged percentage of lawyers who choose not to participate at all. As noted earlier, the survey is voluntary and anonymous. It is unknown whether, and to what proportion, lawyers who opted not to participate actually identify with any of the EDI groups or would say that they do not identify with any of the EDI characteristics.
The APD survey remains a key source of data, and the Law Society is exploring ways to encourage even greater participation from lawyers, so that we can further improve our understanding and better guide our efforts. The completion the survey by lawyers is a small, but significant, action that the profession can take to move the dialogue forward, measure the effectiveness of the initiatives that the Law Society and lawyers are implementing, and ensure our actions, as a regulator, are responsive to the needs of lawyers and the public we serve.
By the numbers
|
Lawyer demographics
|
2015
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
|
|
Responses
|
%
|
Responses
|
%
|
Responses
|
%
|
Responses
|
%
|
Responses
|
%
|
|
Aboriginal – First Nations, Metis, Inuit
|
294
|
2.5%
|
316
|
2.6%
|
330
|
2.7%
|
334
|
2.7%
|
340
|
2.7%
|
|
Visible minority
|
1,503
|
12.8%
|
1,643
|
13.7%
|
1,795
|
14.6%
|
1,934
|
15.3%
|
2,029
|
16.2%
|
|
LGBT
|
314
|
2.7%
|
339
|
2.8%
|
390
|
3.2%
|
397
|
3.2%
|
442
|
3.5%
|
|
Persons with a disability
|
194
|
1.7%
|
215
|
1.8%
|
229
|
1.9%
|
241
|
1.9%
|
271
|
2.2%
|
|
Do not identify with any of these characteristics
|
6,937
|
58.8%
|
6,999
|
58.3%
|
6,859
|
55.8%
|
6,798
|
53.9%
|
6,517
|
51.9%
|
|
Chose not to answer
|
2,528
|
21.4%
|
2,471
|
20.6%
|
2,675
|
21.8%
|
2,910
|
23.1%
|
2,966
|
23.6%
|
|
Total responses
|
11,770
|
|
11,983
|
|
12,278
|
|
12,614
|
|
12,565
|
|