The Transforming Women’s Leadership in the Law UK initiative surveyed 56 lawyers
and prospective lawyers, ranging from law students on the threshold of their first
legal training programme to very senior solicitors to collect their thoughts on how
to break down the remaining structural barriers within the legal profession. Survey
respondents included public sector lawyers, in-house counsel, barristers, and
academic non-practising lawyers. Unfortunately, we found the impediments faced
by women in the law have not receded.
”It is my mission to leave the profession more diverse and inclusive than the one I entered. As we enter the 100th year of the first woman to be admitted as a solicitor women now make up 52% of practising solicitors and 63% on entry, but yet only make up 35% of partners in private practice. Women still face unacceptable barriers in the workplace that can prevent them from reaching as far as their talent and ability should otherwise take them.”
Stephanie Boyce, President Law Society of England and Wales
To truly address these issues, which are disappointing to see so prevalently still in
2022, lawyers, law firms, businesses, and organisations need to open access to a
wide and diverse pool of talent at entry level, and provide support, sponsorship,
and flexibility to remove the structural barriers that cause lawyers to leave their
professions before they are ready to do so.
Click the link to download the full report – TWLL Report 2022
