In the months leading up to International Women’s Day, I was thinking about how far the profession has come since Carrie Morrison became the first woman solicitor in England and Wales in 1922.
In December 2022, we celebrated the life and careers of the first women to qualify in England and Wales: Carrie Morrison, Mary Pickup, Mary Sykes, Maud Crofts and Agnes Twiston Hughes.
Now we must look to the next 100 years and what we can do to improve the experiences of women solicitors today.
We know that women in the profession are more likely to take the lead in caring responsibilities, face an unacceptable work/life balance and additional pressures as they progress in their careers, such as the menopause or perimenopause, pregnancy or other health issues.
What can we do collectively as a profession to create lasting change for women solicitors?
I encourage all firms, whatever their size, to sign up to our Women in Law Pledge, which requires signatories to commit to senior level accountability for progressing gender equality, set targets for women at senior levels and create an inclusive culture that’s free from bias.
What the pledge can do for you
At a recent roundtable, signatories, including those from small and medium sized firms, reported several positive changes within their firms.
Signatories reported that having one named member of the senior leadership team/management committee who is accountable for gender diversity and inclusion increased senior level buy-in on gender diversity initiatives.
This signalled leadership commitment and provided key representation at board level, while the pledge to develop and publish targets and action plans created a catalyst for change.
This encouraged an improved focus on gender equality issues through the setting of specific timescales and the transparency of publicly reporting on progress.
Effective flexible working, promotion of alternative career paths and support for women returning to the profession after family/career breaks are some of the key initiatives that will support the success of the pledge.
Intersectionality and the pledge
Intersectionality is considered a key part of the work under the pledge, as it is with all diversity and inclusion (D&I) initiatives, as signatories must consider the differential outcomes for different groups of women at all levels of the organisation.
Our pledge reflects an aspiration to see gender balance at all levels in the legal profession and to tackle the gender pay gap and other inequalities that still affect women in the profession today, especially those who face multiple layers of discrimination.
Organisations should therefore look at the relevant person’s background, identity and range of personal experiences – not solely their gender identity – when setting objectives and targets to improve gender equality.
More firms are addressing this by widening their pay gap reporting to include ethnicity, disability and LGBTQ+ data, as well as analysing talent pipeline information on recruitment, retention, promotion and flexible working patterns.
In conjunction with the pledge, I recommend firms use our D&I framework which is a systematic approach to developing and delivering a D&I strategy.
Whether you’re starting on your D&I journey, or you’re making good strides, the framework has simple steps you can follow, tangible actions you can take and regular checkpoints to help you monitor your progress.
As we mark International Women’s Day, I encourage all firms and organisations to do more and do it better. Collectively, we can all contribute to this lasting change and a profession where everyone feels valued, respected, safe and welcome.
Lubna Shuja is president of the Law Society of England and Wales
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