A report published last week by the US National Association for Law Placement has shown how law firms have done little to attract and retain black women lawyers in recent years, even as diversity efforts are beginning to bear fruit for other groups. Since 2010, the number of black women employed as associates at US law firms has fallen every single year. In 2016, black women make up 2.32 per cent of associates at US law firms and just 0.64 per cent of partners, figures that have remained steady for several years. This is despite gains in the presence of women lawyers (from 32.97 per cent in 2009 to 33.89 per cent in 2016), minority lawyers (from 12.59 per cent to 14.62 per cent) and minority women (from 6.33 per cent to 7.23 per cent).

Sources: New York Times; Bloomberg BigLaw Business