International Women’s Day: Female lawyers ‘positive about future’

Over eight out of 10 female lawyers claim that they feel positive about their future in the legal profession, new research coinciding with International Women’s Day has found.

Realm Recruit surveyed a cross-section of 65 lawyers from its extensive network on topics relating to gender equality within the law. It found that 88% of lawyers feel positive about their future as a female in the law, with a further 10% feeling neutral.

However, only two thirds (63%) of lawyers said felt they have equal opportunity as a female in their law firm. In addition, half of the respondents said they felt they’d been discriminated against because of their gender and 39% said they didn’t feel there was enough female representation at the top of their law firm.

“It’s really pleasing to see that so many female lawyers have such a positive outlook for their legal careers,” said Kelly Reid, Associate Director at Realm Recruit. She did, however, add the ceveat that a “significant gender pay gap” of 25.4% still exists and that just 35% of partners are female:

“There’s certainly still room for improvement, especially when it comes to helping more women climb the career ladder…

…Employers can […] play their part by focusing on performance when determining pay and promotion and being transparent about career paths and pay.

By taking these steps, we can all work to reduce the gender disparity within the sector and help more female lawyers fulfil their potential and secure leadership positions.”

Read more about International Women’s Day 2023.