Gender Inequality in the Legal Profession — The Time for Change is Overdue

Around the world gender equality continues to be an issue society places importance in working towards. Celebrations such as the recent International Women’s Day are great at highlighting how far we have come. With women only able to enter the workforce in Australia as recent as 1942, it is easy to become swept up in rejoicing the equalities women are now afforded. However, we must not allow this to pull wool over our eyes. Australia still has some work to do before we can rest easy. Of particular concern is inequality of women in the legal sector. 

The legal profession upon closer investigation is particularly lacking in addressing women in leadership positions. Despite women making up 54% of the legal profession, only 29% of women are either partners or principals in law firms, according to the 2021 Annual Profile of Solicitors in NSW Report. This begs the question, why? There are clearly enough women in law, in fact they outnumber men, so why is this not proportional to the amount of women in roles such as partners or principals?

Women not only face inequality regarding leadership roles but also pay. The forefront of conversations about gender equality in the workforce is, of course, equal pay. The legal profession is no exception as women are reported to earn less across all practice areas. 59% of full-time solicitors earn less than $150,000, in comparison to their male counterparts of which 48% earn less than $150,000. Additionally, 28% of male solicitors report earn over $200,000 in comparison to 19% of female solicitors, according to the College of Law. 

Outrage is of course the first step, outrage against these statistics that bring to light how much work must still be done before we are able to reach gender equality in the legal profession. But what can be done to fix this? 

One important issue is recognizing roadblocks women may face in the workforce and addressing them. One such issue is flexible work or parental leave in order to allow women to grow their family without feeling penalised at work. Such steps have already been taken by certain law firms such as Ashurst, who offer 26 weeks of fully leave to its employees in its ‘FamilyCare’ policy. This policy signifies a necessary change, allowing women who are traditionally assigned the primary caregiver role to not face additional roadblocks in their professional career.

Certain firms, such as Ashurst, have also adopted the ‘40-40-20 model’ which aims to break down partnerships to 40% men, 40% women and then allocating the remaining 20% based upon merit. This model would be a great way for all firms to set a target with public scrutiny likely to encourage action. 

Transparent pay although controversial may also be a way to address gender pay disparities. Publishing employee salaries would ensure those earning less for the same role are able to recognise they are inadequately paid and to redress this issue by pushing for a pay parity. 

The issue of gender inequality in the legal profession is one that deserves attention and outrage. It is only once firms are willing to take action will these circumstances truly change.