Biglaw, Minority Issues, Women's Issues

How Can Comedy Help Biglaw With Issues Related To Gender, Diversity, And Inclusion?

These problems are no laughing matter, but in some cases, comedic intervention can be a useful way to solve them.

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laughing lawyersIt’s no secret that America’s largest law firms are lacking in diversity. Studies have shown that minorities make up fewer than 7 percent of law firm partners, and men are two to five times more likely to make partner than women. In fact, less than 10 percent of top Biglaw rainmakers are women or minorities. These problems are no laughing matter, but in some cases, comedic intervention can be a useful way to solve them.

I recently had the opportunity to attend a series of workshops put together by Second City Works, the B2B side of The Second City, the world-renowned improvisation school and comedy theatre, which had to do with diversity, inclusion, and gender equality in the workplace. This “Creating a Culture of Inclusion” event was held at Caroline’s on Broadway and focused on identifying gender gaps and challenges within organizations while facilitating skill-building techniques and tools to empower more diverse leadership within corporate America. It was so much fun, and such a great learning experience.

I spoke to Brynne Humphreys, the VP of Client Services for Second City Works, about these workshops, and how they could be used in a law firm setting.

SZ: Congratulations on your work with Second City Works’ diversity, inclusion, and gender workshop programming. Having participated in the programs, I have to say that they were inspiring. Can you share with our readers what these workshops are about?

BH: These workshops are part of Second City Works’ overall diversity and inclusion (D&I) package, focused on building the skills necessary to practice inclusion and support in the workplace. Currently, we offer each of these workshops as stand alone sessions, or as part of our broader offering that also includes relevant videos.

For our D&I workshop, “Culture of Inclusion,” we focus on leadership-level skills and behaviors that give participants the tools needed in managing an inclusive team. We use techniques like Being Others’ Focused, Got Your Back, Looking Through Labels, and more. Ideas like: How does language choice affect inclusion? What do you do if you make a mistake? How can your cell phone or computer indicate to someone if you’re invested in them?

For our women in leadership workshop, “2095 Today,” we focus on leadership communication techniques (regardless of gender), Modeling Behavior + Mentorship, Taking & Supporting Risk, and more. Ideas like: Can you say Yes to get to No? Are the “rules” real, or are you making some of them up for yourself? What does it look like when someone really has your back?

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SZ: In case you’re unaware, law is the least diverse profession in the nation, and law firms are constantly under fire for not doing enough to change that. How could a Second City Works workshop on these issues help?

We really believe every business in every industry should take steps to ensure that their workforce represents their client base. That is just good humanity, not to mention good business.

For those industries that have a lot of ground to make up (like law), we believe action can be taken on several levels. Often we find that there are uncertainties or inconsistencies in what “diverse” means to all people. Our workshops and videos can go a long way towards getting everyone on the same page and really starting a conversation about what a diverse organization looks like. Finding a way to level set that conversation goes a long way towards aligning on a solution.

Our workshops in particular can be a necessary part of the inclusion part of D&I — making sure that once the composition of the workforce begins to change, that the attitudes, behaviors, and mindsets evolve as well, and make room for new voices and ideas.

SZ: Women in law firms are battling gender bias on a seemingly every day basis. How would Second City Works’ full-day workshop on women in leadership shape the conversation on gender equity in the law?

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BH: Well, to start, we ask that men be a part of our sessions whenever possible. Part of the challenge with the current conversation is that it is viewed as a “women’s conversation” — one that is by women, for women, and focused on women building skills so they can compete better with men.

We see this as an organizational issue, not a women’s issue. Organizations need to take control of this conversation and enable women and men to be part of the solution. Our 2095 Today sessions build leadership and ensemble (team) skills, regardless of gender.

We focus on curriculum that we know is relevant to accelerating female success in the workplace: mentorship and sponsorship, risk taking and supporting risk, and communicating with intention.

SZ: Tell our readers more about Second City Works’ 2095 Today program, and how you think it could work in a law firm setting.

Our 2095 Today program is ideal for a law firm setting, regardless of size. We work with leadership/partners to establish goals that make sense for the organization (goals like number of women in leadership positions, number of female interviews for entry-level positions, etc.) and use our content and skill-building to drive a series of workshops with segmented teams. The outcome of these workshops is an action plan that breaks down the goals into incremental steps and assigns accountability to different teams.

We continue to work with the organization through webinars, and track progress against the action plan for the next 12 – 18 months.

By breaking the gender parity challenge into bite-sized pieces, and by skill-building alongside the workforce as we develop a road map, we set the stage for incremental success that ultimately can have an overarching impact.

SZ: Congratulations again to Second City Works for its educational, inspiring, and much-needed programming on diversity, inclusion, and gender equality in the workplace. Thanks for inviting me to take part!

If you think your law firm could benefit from workshops like these (sessions which likely qualify for CLE credit), please get in touch with Second City Works as soon as possible.

Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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