Women feel hindered by gender, but oppose quotas: law survey

More than 60% of women in the legal profession feel their career progress has been hampered by their gender, but the majority do not agree that quotas for female partners are the way forward, according to a survey by a specialist recruitment consultancy.

A review by legal and compliance recruiter Laurence Simons of more than 1,000 LinkedIn partner profiles at leading law firms based in the UK found that 20% are women, just 1.4% up on a survey of the top 20 firms by The Lawyer magazine in 2013. Despite this and the fact that of a smaller number who responded to an online poll, 62% of women said their gender had hindered their progress, fewer than half of respondents – 42%, compared with 16% of men – wanted to see quotas introduced to ensure a level of female representation.

The overall figure of 25% supporting enforced quotas compares with the 9% who say that voluntary quotas only are necessary, and the 19% who believe that quotas are effective for increasing gender equality, but should not be used. Reasons given include that they are patronising, anti-meritocratic and discriminatory. A larger number, 47%, believe quotas are ineffective and that other techniques such as focusing on flexible working arrangements, retention of top female talent and leadership development programmes tailored to women should be deployed.

A difference of views on the subject also emerged at a panel session and debate held by the Professional Bodies' Forum of Scotland, hosted by the Law Society of Scotland and reported in this month's Journal.

A report published in March this year by accountancy firm Grant Thornton suggested that the UK is below the global average when it comes to promoting women to senior jobs, that the UK legal profession is marginally worse in promoting women to leadership than the UK business average.

Clare Butler, Global Managing Director at Laurence Simons, commented: “Gender quotas are very much chicken before the egg and to truly solve the problem of gender equality in the legal industry we need to tackle the root causes of the issue, not just tinker with the results of a dysfunctional system.

“Key to overcoming the gender equality problem is setting up a forum in law firms, and amongst legal teams, where women feel comfortable discussing the attitudes and practices that might be holding them back. The women working in the UK profession are bright enough to be part of one of the best legal industries in the world, so let’s learn from their experiences and apply these to future generations and create environments women want to be a part of and excel in.”

She added: “Many of the top law firms are implementing initiatives and these now need to go beyond attracting, nurturing and retaining diverse talent. It’s also about attitudes through the educational process. For example, Linklaters’ London office works with local girls’ schools to encourage working aspirations.

“Targeting a later point in women’s careers, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has a mentoring scheme for women in the business which focuses on overcoming challenges as well as the soft-skills needed for leadership. By targeting all these touch points with women and girls we can start to make a difference and hopefully bring forward the date at which we can claim true equality in our UK legal profession.”

• The Scottish Government is to trial a project to help bring experienced women back into the workplace after a career break, working along with employers. The “Returners” project will help women update their skills and knowledge to smooth the transition back into the workplace for both women and employers. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made the announcement as she opened Deloitte’s new Glasgow office. The firm has a Working Parents Transitions Programme to help women back into work.