Diversity in Corporate America and the Legal Profession
Our country is one of the most diverse nations in the world, made up of individuals from all races, ethnicities, genders, cultures and backgrounds. Corporate America understands this country is becoming far more multicultural and diverse, and to expand their markets successfully, businesses are going to need a diverse staff, not limited to race and gender diversity, but also including age, ethnicity, sexual orientation and disabilities.
Arguably, corporations moved ahead of the curve because they planned ahead to maintain bottom-line profits. Businesses obtain a return on investment when the company looks like the communities they service because clients and customers want to conduct business with people who look like them.
Changing Demographics
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 50.9% of the U.S. population was female (50.2% in King County) and the total white population was 75.1%.1 The 2000 census figures for race and ethnicity comparing King County and the U.S. population indicate:
| Race and Ethnicity | King County2 | Percent | U.S. |
| White | 1,315,507 | 75.7 | 75.1 |
| Hispanic/Latino | (95,242) | (5.5) | (12.5) |
| Black/African American | 93,875 | 5.4 | 12.3 |
American Indian/
Alaskan Native | 15,922 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 196,758 | 11.3 | 3.7 |
| Multi-race | 70,499 | 4.1 | 2.4 |
| Other race | 44,473 | 2.6 | 5.5 |
Future projections by the Census Bureau make the case for corporate diversity even stronger. By 2010, the U.S. population is projected to be 15.5% Hispanic/ Latino, 13.1% African American and 4.7% Asian Ameri-can/Pacific Islander. By 2030, the U.S. population will be 20.1% Hispanic/Latino, 13.9% African American and 6.3% Asian American/Pacific Islander. And by 2050, the U.S. population will be 24.4% Hispanic/Latino, 14.6% African American and 8.1% Asian American/Pacific Islander.
The nation’s Hispanic and Asian populations grew at much faster rates than the population as a whole, according to the estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau for 2003. The population of Hispanics reached 39.9 million as of July 1, 2003. Its growth rate of 13.0% was almost four times that of the total population at 3.3%. (In King County, the 2000 Census indicates the Hispanic population increased by 50,905/114.8% in the 10-year period from 1990 to 2000). The U.S. Asian population grew 12.5% to 13.5 million. The black population increased by 4.4% to 38.7 million. American Indians and Alaska natives increased 3.3% to 4.4 million. The non-Hispanic white population grew 2.8% to 237.9 million.
To underscore the projected demographic changes in the U.S. population, consider this. According to the 2000 Census statistics, for Americans age 70 and older, there are 5.63 non-Hispanic whites for every person of color. For people under the age of 40, there are only 1.72 non-Hispanic whites for every person of color. And for people under the age of 10, there are 1.47 non-Hispanic whites for every person of color.
Demographics in Our Legal Profession
In a joint statement in 2005, the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession and the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession reported that women and minority representation continues to lag well behind that of most other professions, as well as behind minority representation in the civilian labor force generally. Total minority representation among lawyers is about 9.7%, compared to 20.8% among accountants and auditors, 24.6% among physicians and surgeons and 18.2% among college and university teachers. Women comprise 29.1% of all lawyers compared to 58.3% of all accountants and auditors and 37.2% of all university faculties.
A recent study by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, entitled “Diversity in Law Firms,”3 reveals that women now make up 40% of legal professionals (associates) in the private sector. African Americans, Hispanics and Asians also increased their employment as legal professionals since 1975 to 4%, 3% and 6.5%, respectively.
The study also showed that women and people of color made employment gains in medium and large law firms. Between 1982 and 2002, women graduating from law schools increased from 33% to 48.3%, African Americans from 4.2% to 7.2%, Hispanics from 2.3% to 5.7% and Asians from 1.3% to 6.5%.
Many of our local law firms have established attorney diversity committees tasked to develop and implement diversity strategies that will result in improved recruitment, retention and advancement of individuals from diverse backgrounds. This, however, requires a pool of diverse candidates from our law schools and colleges who are the gatekeepers to a diverse applicant pool. So, it goes without saying that law firms and leaders within the legal profession must engage in collaborative efforts with the law schools, colleges and even high schools to ensure that a significant pool of diverse and qualified applicants is available from which to recruit.
In Seattle, both law schools at Seattle University and UW have strong commitments to diversity in their student bodies and faculties. Seattle University is headed by Kellye Testy, the first woman law school dean in the state. Joe Knight, an African American, is the law school dean at UW. According to the American Bar Association, minority representation of minority law school students nationally is holding at about 20%. Current enrollment of students of color at SU is 28% out of a total enrollment of 1,111 and at UW 19.4% of the total enrollment of 561; women make up about 50% of the students at SU and 58.5% at UW.
Our own King County Bar Foundation initiated a very successful project, the Future of the Law Institute, with a mission to promote diversity in the legal profession by encouraging minority and economically disadvantaged high school students in King County to pursue higher education in the field of law. Recently, more than 70 students participated in the second FLI program held at the UW and SU law schools where they had the opportunity to meet and interact with judges, lawyers, professors and law school students.
Business leaders understand the significance of the changes in demographics and view them as an opportunity for business growth. Businesses understand that the more a company mirrors its markets demographically, the better positioned it will be to meet consumer needs. Likewise, our legal profession cannot succeed without fully embracing the benefits of diversity. As business leaders have shown, diversity is painted with a broad paintbrush inclusive of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, physical disabilities and economics.
Diversity must be viewed as the creation of a new culture where each individual is valued for the unique contribution to the organization at all levels, most especially in leadership positions. Much has already been done to improve diversity in the legal profession, but there is so much more to do. n
Gary Maehara is the current president of the King County Bar Association. He can be reached at garmae@safeco.com.
1 This figure and other figures reported here of white populations and projections include those Hispanics who identified themselves as white. In U.S. Census Bureau figures, Hispanic ethnicity is a separate data category from race and is not included in the race totals. Hispanics are not necessarily white. In the 2000 Census, race and Hispanic origin were considered two separate concepts and therefore Hispanics may be of any race or races.
2 DiversityInc, Oct/Nov 2003, “Which Industries Benefit the Most from Diversity?”
3 The purpose of the EEOC study was to examine the employment status of women and minorities in law firms required to file EE-1 Employer Information reports. For the full report go to www.EEOC.gov.
