Having suffered intermittently since childhood from racism, I hate diversity questionnaires like poison. If a “diversity questionnaire” lands on my desk, it goes straight in the bin. Providing to officialdom deeply personal information on gender, sexual orientation, religion, race/ethnicity — I’m not doing that. It’s my business. I was nearly barred entry to Laos because I refused to fill in one. It’s a matter of profound principle for me.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has now made these invasive forms a mandatory requirement, with all law firms forced to report their staff’s diversity statistics every two years. This is now due. I have told my staff that we recognise that some people don’t want to provide this kind of information to a public body, and that they are at liberty either to fill out or to ignore the forms if they wish — I certainly won’t be filling in mine.
