While some 88 per cent of lawyers are white, the proportion falls to 81 per cent of architects and engineers and 72 per cent of doctors, according to Stanford University. Unconscious bias is a part of the problem, according to law professor Deborah Rhode. Lawyers have the lowest diversity spread among the professions, acording to her research. The stats get worse, the more important the roles involved are. While 20 per cent of law school graduates are non-whites, they make up only seven per cent of partners in law firms and only nine per cent of GCs in large corporations.

Not feminine enough

A similar pattern emerges when male and female lawyers are compared. Women account for some 33 per cent of the profession overall - but only 20 per cent of law firm partners and of GCs in the Fortune 500. Professor Rhode also points to a double standard which sees women as too feminine or not feminine enough. Source: ABA