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&lt;p&gt;The results of the Vault Law 2021 diversity survey are in! Expect several posts dissecting our findings, but for this first one we&#39;ll just look at the highest-level takeaways in our general report.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The survey report is broken into two sections. Section 1 reflects what firms reported to us about their ongoing diversity promotion initiatives. Section 2 reports the demographics inside those firms. We&#39;ll proceed in the same order.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Among our survey respondents, 87% have a designated individual responsible for leading DEI efforts. 94% of respondent firms have a diversity committee in place. 85% of firms already have internal affinity groups, and another 5% report that they are developing them. 60% of firms host interval diversity events (like conferences and retreats), with another 14% reporting they plan to do so soon. 100% of firms have a formal anti-discrimination policy, and 74% require all attorneys and staff to take annual DEI trainings.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Under half of firms offer billable credit to their associates for DEI activities, and the free time attorneys (don&#39;t) have is often cited as a pain point hindering diversity efforts. The Manfield Rule, coined by Diversity Lab in 2017, sets a specific target number of lawyers from underrepresented groups for firms to affirmatively consider for senior and/or leadership roles. 36% of firms have achieved Mansfield Rule certification, and another 24% are actively working towards it. 65% of firms hold partners accountable for diversity.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;85% of firms participate in diversity career fairs, and 80% support scholarships, internships, and/or fellowships for diverse students. 77% of firms actively recruit from HBCUs, and 54% participate in diversity-specific recruiting efforts at other schools. 97% of firms provide parental leave for adoptive parents, and all of these leave policies are gender-neutral. 63% of firms provide family planning resources, and only 40% make a distinction between a primary and secondary caregiver in their policies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;90% of firms provide equal benefits to same-sex couples. Only 1% do not, and 9% do &quot;in part,&quot; which, when followed up on, meant they provide benefits to same-sex spouses but not domestic partners. 89% of firms include gender identity and expression as a protected category in their non-discrimination policies, and 87% offer health insurance with equitable benefits. 79% of firms allow employees to share their preferred pronouns, and 50% provide gender neutral restrooms and use gender neutral language in their firmwide materials.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Finally, 95% of firms&#39; non-discrimination policies include disability status as a protected category, 90% have a clear and well-communicated process when it comes to requesting workplace accommodations, and 80% have addressed accessibility in physical spaces.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That covers the key findings on firm diversity efforts. In our next post, we&#39;ll present the key findings from section 2 on law firm demographics. Stay tuned!&lt;/p&gt;

Travis Whitsitt

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