At the proposal of the Diversity and Inclusion Council, at the start of 2024 the IBA launched an online Coassemble diversity and inclusion training programme and encouraged all Officers to use it as a means of gaining a practical understanding of how unconscious bias compromises the way we interact with others. The Diversity and Inclusion Council also supported and assisted the IBA European Region Forum to launch a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Toolkit to assist law firms in similar endeavours. 

Underlying the launch of these tools was the desire to enhance diversity and inclusion by providing the skills to identify how unconscious bias affect our day-to-day business and inter-personal interactions and how to neutralise its constrain.

This session will share data on how gender imbalances in the IBA have improved (or not) and further discuss how our cultural background due principally to our upbringing conditions the way in which we interact with others in a manner that compromises diversity and inclusion without realising not only in areas of gender, but also in areas such as ethnic origins, race, SOGI and neurodiversity.

Sternford Moyo passed away unexpectedly on 5 July 2024. Sternford’s leadership, integrity, and courage is profoundly missed at the IBA. Over the years, Sternford held various important roles in our Association – including Co-Chair of the IBA’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and more recently our first IBA President from Africa (2021 to 2023). As President, Sternford showed an unwavering support for diversity and inclusion within the Association. Just a few weeks prior to his sad passing, Sternford graciously agreed to join this panel to speak regarding diversity and inclusion from the perspective of race. The Diversity and Inclusion Council would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and honour Sternford's incredible commitment to the protection of those most vulnerable through adherence to the rule of law and promotion of human rights and human dignity for all.