Marked disparity in the way women and men perceive issue of gender equality

More than half of 7,781 people responding to the Law Society’s Women in the Law survey— the largest ever international survey of women in the law— identified unconscious bias as a barrier. However, only 11% said unconscious bias training was being carried out in their organisation.

Best practice ways to improve careers equality were: flexible working; networking opportunities; mentoring and sponsorship; engaging men in the equality debate and encouraging shared parental leave; increased visibility of women at senior levels in the law; and role modelling family-friendly working practices, including through speaking at informal and formal events.

There was a marked disparity in the way women and men perceive the issue of gender equality. The respondents to the survey, published this week on International Women’s Day, included 5,758 women and 554 men (the rest either did not declare or said they were ‘other’). Nearly three-quarters of the men but less than half the women agreed there had been progress on gender equality in the past five years.

An overwhelming 91% of respondents said flexible working is critical to improving diversity. However, only half of the respondents work in an organisation where flexible working is in place. Moreover, while 60% said they were aware of a gender pay gap in their workplace, only 16% saw visible steps being taken to address the disparity.

‘While more and more women are becoming lawyers, this shift is not yet reflected at more senior levels in the profession,’ said Law Society vice president Christina Blacklaws.

‘Our survey and a wider programme of work during my presidency in 2018-19 seek to understand progress, barriers and support remedies. Unconscious bias in the legal profession is the most commonly identified barrier to career progression for women, while flexible working is seen as a remedy by an overwhelming 91% of respondents to our survey.

‘Interestingly, while half of all respondents said they thought there had been progress on gender equality over the last five years, there was a significant difference in perception by gender with 74% of men reporting progress in gender equality compared to only 48% of women.’

Meanwhile, the Douglas Scott 2018 Salary Survey, published this week, identifies flexi-time as the most sought-after benefit. However, only one in five of the 3,000 lawyer respondents had flexi-time as part of their benefits package.

Women accounted for two-thirds of the 3,000 legal professionals who took part (82% solicitors and 11% legal executives). Londoners worked a 44-hour week on average, compared to 41 hours in the Midlands (although Midlands lawyers were the least satisfied with their jobs, and only one third were happy with their pay and benefits).