‘No change’ in diverse candidate demand yet,

Barker Gilmore, an executive search firm focused on the legal industry, said it has seen no reduction in demand for diverse candidates.

“Notwithstanding the political discourse regarding the value of DEI programs, our clients continue to seek in-house legal and compliance professionals who are highly qualified for those positions, and who also are representative of the current diversity of their company’s larger workforce and customer base,” Managing Partner John Gilmore said in a press release.

Gilmore noted his company has provided slates of diverse candidates for the past 20 years and clients remain interested in diversity.

“We have experienced no change in that demand over the past year,” he said.

Pushback

Recent pressure to cut corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives accelerated on Jan. 20 when Donald Trump took office as US president and issued an executive order terminating such programs in the federal government.

Several companies pulled back on their programs since then, most recently retail giant Target, which announced it would conclude its three-year DE&I goals and won’t set them publicly going forward, Bloomberg reported. Target will also end a five-year initiative focused on bolstering Black employees’ career development and finding new ways to support Black communities among other goals, according to Bloomberg. The company noted the end of the program had already been planned for 2025.

On the other hand, some firms, such as Costco, are holding steady. Shareholders at Costco recently rejected a proposal that the company conduct an evaluation of the risks of maintaining its DE&I programs, CNN reported. Ninety-eight percent of shareholders voted against it.

Still, concerns remain, Gilmore said.

“The current pool of qualified, diverse legal and compliance talent remains healthy,” he said. “However, reported declines in the number of law school applicants with diverse backgrounds will negatively affect the number of new associates hired by law firms, which serves as the traditional career pathway to in-house legal positions. Longer term, this trend is likely to reduce the number of qualified diverse candidates available for employment for in-house senior legal positions.

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