Page 12 - Transformation Report.indd

6. BLACK AND FEMALE

APPOINTMENTS IN THE GROUP

At the core of the Group’s contribution to the transformation of the legal
profession is the year-on-year growth of black and female appointments
in the Group. Despite a troubling economic climate which will affect the
number of professional appointments made at firms, all firms, in support
of their pledge to the Group BEE Standards, have a resolute commitment
to ensuring the growth of black and female professional appointments in
the Group as a percentage of total appointments made by all firms. This
Firms have commitment will ultimately lead to an increasing number of black and
female director appointments within the Group.
a resolute But developing quality professionals capable of playing a leading role

commitment in member firms will take time and require investment by firms in career
and skills development. The Group BEE Standards embrace this by
to ensuring the requiring firms to focus on increasing their pool of young black and
female professionals and investing in that pool to develop mid-level
growth of black and eventually senior professionals and directors. It is therefore highly
satisfactory that in 2015, nearly 50% of all new candidate attorney
and female appointments within the Group were black appointments and more
than 50% of new candidate attorney appointments within the Group
professional were female appointments. This shows the impact of the Group BEE
Standards in encouraging firms to invest in growing their pool of junior
appointments in black and female appointments.
At professional level appointments were also more than satisfactory with
the Group 25% of new associate appointments in the Group being black associates
and 35% female associates. Very positive is also that 40% of new director
appointments in the Group were new black directors and 70% of new
director appointments in the Group were female appointments. These
positive percentages indicate a dramatic prioritisation within the Group
on advancing black and female appointments, which will continue to
gain momentum as the pool of new young candidate attorney recruits
mature within the Group and firms invest in meeting the Group BEE
Standards.

10 setting the standard