Invest in women

This International Women's Day (Friday 8th March 2024) has the theme of 'Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress', something we know is important to the profession.

The UN have many goals that they are keen to achieve by 2030, one of them being gender equality. What they have found is an 'alarming lack of financing' with statistics highlighting there is $360 billion annual deficit with regard to spending on gender equality measures to support further.

The UN note, as we as all know, that the world is facing a variety of challenges and crises - and they believe that some of these challenges can only be addressed by solutions that empower women. The UN state that by investing in women, they can spark change which helps speed up the transition to a 'healthier, safer, and more equal world for all'.

There are so many champions of women in law, whether that be supporting equality, investment into women in the profession, career development and more. However there is more that can be done.

We want to know what you think about how best to 'invest in women' and improve gender equality within the profession.

We spoke to Diane McGiffen, Chief Executive, Law Society of Scotland and the President, Sheila Webster to get their thoughts on International Women's Day.

Diane McGiffen, Chief Executive, Law Society of Scotland, said: "The Law Society has a proud track record of working with the solicitor profession to promote diversity and inclusion and to shine a light on issues that matter if we are to ensure the profession best reflects the society we serve. There is much still to do, and we are committed to continuing to play an active and leading role in offering commentary, advice, learning and development for the legal profession.

"The Law Society was recognised recently as a Leader in Diversity by the National Centre for Diversity, making us one of the top 100 most inclusive employers in the UK. The award is a fantastic testament to our work in championing diversity and inclusion both at the Society and across the profession, but we can never be complacent or think our work is done.

"International Women’s Day is an important day to reflect on the progress we’ve made and the challenges ahead. When women thrive, everyone thrives, so we need to understand how to support women to achieve their full potential and ambitions. This year’s theme is about inspiring inclusion and creating a more inclusive world for women. That’s will be great for everyone and we at the Law Society of Scotland will continue to focus on inclusion and the importance of human rights."

Sheila Webster, President of the Law Society of Scotland, commented: "We have had inspiring female trailblazers within Scotland’s legal profession for over 100 years. Glasgow University graduate Madge Easton Anderson was the first woman admitted as a professional lawyer in the UK in 1921, and Dame Margaret Kidd KC was the first to join the Faculty of Advocates in 1923. However, it still took more than 55 years for Caroline Flanagan to become the first female president of the Law Society of Scotland in 2005.

"As just the sixth female president in the Society’s 75-year history, there is still some way to go to make up the numbers, but in May this year for the first time, all three office bearers – president, vice president and past president – will be women.

"This illustrates the real progress that has been made but, while the pace of change has certainly increased and we see many more women joining the profession, there is an imbalance when it comes to attaining senior positions. We know that many women reaching mid-career stages are choosing to leave the profession so it’s important that we understand the reasons behind this and find solutions. We want to ensure that women continue to have opportunities to develop throughout their legal careers and that we stem the loss of talent and experience from our profession.

"It’s why celebrating International Women’s Day remains important - we’ve made great strides towards gender equality in the profession, but there is still more to be done."

Get in touch

The Journal is always keen to showcase and highlight the things people are doing within the profession, so if you have a story or insights you wish us to cover, please let us know. Likewise, if you would like to be interviewed to share your thoughts, experiences and career to date, send us an email.

We would love to hear from you.