Number of Missouri lawyers reporting race, gender continues to grow
As part of the 2023 attorney enrollment process through the Supreme Court of Missouri, nearly 3 in 4 of the 30,759 actively licensed lawyers in Missouri voluntarily reported their gender or race and ethnicity.
Nine in 10 members of The Missouri Bar reported gender information on the annual Attorney Enrollment Form, a slight increase from 2022. Race and ethnicity reporting grew by 4% from 2022, resulting in 74% of Missouri lawyers providing that data.
Voluntary reporting of gender was included on the annual Attorney Enrollment Form beginning with 2016 enrollment based on a recommendation from the Joint Commission on Women in the Profession of the Supreme Court of Missouri and The Missouri Bar. Voluntary reporting of race and ethnicity was added to the enrollment form for 2018 following a recommendation by the Supreme Court of Missouri’s Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness.
The bar saw an increase in lawyers voluntarily reporting gender. While 79% of Missouri lawyers reported this information in 2018, 90% did so in 2023. This self-disclosure painted a clearer picture of the profession’s gender makeup, showing 36.9% of today’s Missouri lawyers are female compared to 35.4% based on 2018’s reporting.
The stats also indicate ethnic and racial diversity among Missouri lawyers has remained consistent since 2018.
| Reporting Year | American Indian/ Alaskan Native | Asian | Black or African American | Caucasian | Hispanic or Latino | Multiracial | Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | Other | Un- known |
| 2018 | .58% | 1.52% | 4.84% | 88.78% | 1.6% | 2.42% | .07% | N/A | .20% |
| 2020 | .5% | 1.9% | 4.7% | 87.9% | 1.6% | 1.8% | .1% | 1.22% | .3% |
| 2023 | .4% | 1.95% | 4.9% | 86.98% | 1.63% | 2% | .06% | 1.3% | .36% |
The Missouri Bar is dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion in the profession. One of the state bar’s seven core strategic goals is that Missouri lawyers reflect the diverse constituencies that they serve, and all members view The Missouri Bar as an inclusive organization where they belong.
“We are a robust body of more than 30,000 members – each with individual backstories, practices, and perspectives,” said Lauren Tucker McCubbin, 2022-23 president of The Missouri Bar. “We serve all our members, and we value each other’s unique contributions as we work toward our unified goal of helping Missouri lawyers even better serve their clients and communities, while also improving the law and the administration of justice."
Learn more about The Missouri Bar’s diversity and inclusion resources at MoBar.org/site/About/Diversity___Inclusion/site/content/About/Diversity_Inclusion.aspx.