The landscape of diversity & inclusion has changed significantly over the past decade. More recently, the sphere of diversity & inclusion has been largely influenced by global events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, and the cost of living crisis. These events have brought the importance of diversity to the fore, and there has been a shift in the way people think about and approach diversity & inclusion.
Organisations have become more intentional about diversity, and the Inn is no different.
The Inn has developed important initiatives relating to diversity & inclusion, led in large part by the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, to foster and promote diversity at the Inn and beyond. Work relating to diversity & inclusion at the Inn seeks to promote equality, irrespective of individual characteristics, including gender, race, religion and belief, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, and social background. The work seeks to ensure that all these characteristics are considered in equal measure, whilst also considering that they should not be looked at independently, nor prioritised over any other.
Some of the initiatives include the Inclusion Monitoring Form which all members are encouraged to participate in. The form collects data anonymously regarding the characteristics of the membership and enables the Inn to better understand its makeup so that it is better positioned to identify and address inequalities that may exist.
There has also been a rollout of unconscious and implicit bias training for members. The rollout began with ‘public facing’ roles at the Inn, such as scholarship interviewers and advocacy trainers, and will be rolled out more widely in the coming years. The aim of the training is to make individuals aware of and think about potentially harmful unconscious biases that they may have and learn how to manage these biases. The uptake and response to the training has been positive.
A key initiative in 2023 and into 2024 is the Diversity & Inclusion Policy audit of the Inn’s departments and committees to understand whether its policies are cognisant of diversity & inclusion. The results from the audit have been positive, and some key recommendations have come from this. The Diversity & Inclusion Committee is now working alongside departments and committees to implement these.
As well as the specific initiatives outlined above, the Inn is committed to promoting diversity & inclusion in its everyday work and processes. The Inn is seeking to be more proactive, rather than reactive, in its approach and is committed to fostering initiatives that result in meaningful and long-term impact. The Inn recognises that there has been significant progress to date, but also that there is more work to be done and welcomes any comments or feedback relating to diversity & inclusion.
If you have any comments or feedback you’d like to share, please contact Laura on [email protected].
Laura Hacon was appointed Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator at Middle Temple in August 2023. She previously worked as a Social Impact Executive, specialising in the ‘S’ of ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) and before, as an Initial Response Officer for a charity dedicated to supporting victims of crime and traumatic incidents.
