Covering 2,700 professionals at eight large firms, the survey asked about gender, race, veteran status, disabilities and sexual orientation.
In an American Lawyer article authored by Patrick Smith, Calibrate founder and CEO Jennifer Johnson discussed the findings of the 2021 Calibrate ID research program to gauge the state of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion metrics at US law firms.
The research covered more than 2,700 business services professionals in eight major law firms — including staff in Finance, Legal Operations, IT, Marketing, Human Resources and other disciplines.
Johnson cited parenting responsibilities as one reason for the shrinking ratio of women to men as the jobs became more senior.
“Women are the ones that have the babies,” she said. “And it is still the case that a majority of the parenting falls on the mother.”
Johnson said the next step for the firms that participated in the survey is to set goals for the next three years and outline to pipeline diverse talent in the business services roles.
“It is a long play,” she said. “There will need to be more professional development and clearer career paths for business professionals as well as attorneys, and that process will need to be regimented and intentional for it to work.”
