Over the past two decades, the legal profession has undergone significant feminisation. In 2014, women entered the profession in greater numbers than men for the first time, and by 2018, women constituted the majority of practitioners nationally. Women now consistently outnumber men in the legal profession in all states and territories across Australia.
Yet despite this dramatic shift, the gender balance at partnership tables and in the higher echelons of the profession tells a very different story – one that shows true equality is yet to be achieved.
A new report published by the International Bar Association reveals that while women account for 58 per cent of Australian lawyers, their representation drops to 45 per cent in senior positions. In large law firms, just 42 per cent of partners are women. At the bar, the leadership gap is most pronounced, with women comprising less than one-third of barristers nationally and just 16 per cent of senior counsel.
Although the proportion of women in senior positions has risen over time, this shift is not reflective of the overall number of women in law. Without meaningful structural changes, the legal profession risks entrenching these gender disparities and undermining the depth of its talent pool.
Source: Closing the gender leadership gap in law – Law Society Journal