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While other industries are falling way short of gender targets, the legal profession has been making a concerted effort to redress the gender imbalance.
According to a report by the Law Society of NSW, 47% of all practicing solicitors today, are women – that’s a 508% increase since 1988.
The report, Advancement of Women in the Profession Progress Report 2013 includes new statistics on female solicitors in leadership roles.
In 2012, 41% of all first time principals were women and female solicitors made up 34% of all new principals in law firms with two or more partners.
For corporate lawyers, 48% of women said they were head of their legal team. In government, 52% of the female solicitors surveyed said they were in some type of leadership role.
President of the Law Society of NSW, John Dobson, said “This new research suggests that we are moving in the right direction, but that the legal profession still has more work to do.”
While more women are entering the legal profession, women are still under-represented in the older age groups. More research needs to be done to establish how much of this is because less women were entering the profession in the past, or whether a significant number of women are leaving the legal profession.
John Dobson says the key issues identified by women in the legal profession are mentoring, flexible working arrangements and returning to work after having a child.
In 2012 the Law Society of NSW launched a ‘Women’s Mentoring Program’. In 2013 the law society will also be running ‘Returning to Work’ workshops in July, September and November. For more information about these and other initiatives visit the Law Society of NSW website: www.lawsociety.com.au.
Law Societies in other States and Territories: