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Women in Law: Challenges and Opportunities to achieve gender equity

Woman in law

Women now represent most solicitors in Australia, so why isn’t this mirrored in leadership panels?

The Law Partnership Survey conducted by the Australian Financial Review (published in December 2022) has revealed that only 40.9% of lawyers tapped to make partner in early 2023 were female. When considering that female lawyers outnumber their male counterparts in all Australian states and territories, the percentage of women moving into senior roles at their firm is surprising. The unchanged percentage from 2021 to 2022 of women promoted to partner is particularly astonishing when noting female solicitors also represent the majority of those in senior positions; representing 59.3% of Special Counsel and 62.8% of Senior Associates. Despite women now outnumbering males, why isn’t leadership within the legal industry reflective of those who represent it? 

Despite females taking the lead, there’s still a long way to go to bridge the gap

Unsurprisingly, the 2022 Workplace Gender Equality Report (WGEA) identified a gender pay gap (favouring males) in every professional industry within Australia, including in female driven industries. The report also uncovered that women are likely to be overlooked for leadership positions for many reasons, such as: discrimination, unconscious bias, disproportionate caring responsibilities that fall on women, lack of support for career progression in returning to work after having children, inflexible working arrangements, and gender norms that preclude women leaders.

As women undertake significantly more unpaid domestic and care responsibilities than men, tools to measure work output have likely contributed to barriers preventing women from climbing the ladder as quickly as men. Practises such as the billable hour have been referred to as an outdated tool that perpetuates gender bias within the industry, as women with families may not be able to produce as many billables as others at the same firm.

Further, an additional challenge for women in the industry is the mainstreaming of work from home initiatives. Whilst these arrangements are ideal for lawyers with young families who value the opportunity to balance their professional and personal responsibilities more efficiently; many senior partners have expressed concerns that workplace flexibility may be costing legal professionals crucial observational learning opportunities and relationship building with senior members of the firm. However, Thomson and Reuters Institute research shows that offering flexibility to employees and encouraging firms to take active steps to counter gender bias are effective methods to improve women’s pathway to management roles and improve the gender imbalance in firm leadership. Whilst senior leaders may view flexible working options in the legal industry as a negative, the widespread adoption of hybrid and flexible workplaces have positively contributed to reducing stigma if an employee is not physically on site. 

With females in leadership most likely to drive change, what can leaders do to progress female employees into senior roles

For leaders in the legal industry, achieving a 40:40:20 leadership balance is critical to improve the gender pay gap and diversity in senior positions. Research by WGEA has shown that this split amongst the higher ranks (across all professional industries) would reduce Australia’s gender pay gap by a third, which remained unchanged from 2021 when compared to 2022 figures. For leaders hoping to transform their firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, it is imperative to support women to work in a way that suits them. McKinsey’s 2022 Women in the Workplace survey shows that when women are supported to work how they choose, tangible outcomes for the organisation are shown to have improved and DEI initiatives are more likely to be implemented. Employers can improve the balance of women in leadership by offering managers more training and support, setting KPIs, tracking performance effectively and offering benefits such as childcare and parental leave.

Firm leaders working to promote gender equality in leadership and management teams should understand the importance of individualising the employee experience to suit both their circumstance, and the realities of being a woman in law. As flexibility has allowed women to achieve a better balance between their personal and professional lives, firm leaders still need to consider how and if observational opportunities can transition into remote environments.

Whilst the Australian legal industry is taking active and conscious steps to host meaningful conversations around female representation in law; as demonstrated recently through the development of initiatives such as Lawyer’s Weekly Women in Law Forum and the Women in Law Awards. Firms with underrepresentation of female leaders need to take responsibility in identifying areas where bias may be preventing women from stepping up. It is integral that those firms ensure men and women are applying for promotions at similar rates, outcomes are actively monitored to ensure equity and hiring practices are without bias. After all, shouldn’t leadership teams reflect the state of our legal system and the women who, in both senses of the word, represent it? 

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