“You want to hope that this wave of momentum is actually here to stay and that it’s more than just momentum – it's a paradigm shift.” Bird & Bird associate Rachel Welch-Phillips tells us how Black Lives Matter prompted change in the corporate world last year and discusses some of the ongoing issues for BAME lawyers as we enter 2021.
Rachel Welch-Phillips is an associate in Bird & Bird’s international aviation group. Rachel founded Bird & Bird’s BAME network, Embrace, while she was a second-year trainee at the firm, and her superb work on this front saw her win the Future Leader Chambers Diversity & Inclusion award in the category of minority lawyers in private practice. We caught up with Rachel to discuss the current state of racial and ethnic diversity in the legal industry, as well as some of the recent issues that have impacted this area of D&I.
Topics covered:
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The legal industry’s response to Black Lives Matter
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The legacy of Black History Month
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The origins and use of the term ‘BAME’
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The vast benefits of an intersectional approach to diversity and inclusion.
Presented and edited by Paul Rance.
Music by Michael Bird.