Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama, SAN, a renowned Nigerian lawyer and Life Bencher, has urged the global legal community to confront the subtle but damaging effects of microaggressions in the legal profession, speaking at the International Bar Association Annual General Conference on November 5, 2025.
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Speaking as a panelist on the session titled “The Many Façades of Microaggression,” Gadzama highlighted how behaviors such as consistently interrupting female lawyers in court or over-scrutinizing migrant professionals create a hostile environment that undermines respect and dignity.
He described the profession’s challenge as the “façade of plausible deniability” that often shields perpetrators from accountability.
“Subtle exclusion in professional settings persists and continues to negatively impact equality and respect,” Gadzama said. He urged bar associations and law societies worldwide to embed anti-microaggression standards into ethical codes and reform frameworks to address subtle discrimination.
Gadzama also emphasized the critical role of allies, encouraging senior lawyers to intervene when colleagues are interrupted and to amplify marginalized voices. He stressed that such measures are essential to ensure that the legal profession remains a model of true inclusion.
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