Towards gender equality in the solicitors’ profession in England and Wales a practical, intersectional, socio-legal approach

Over 30 years of initiatives to improve the career progression of women in the solicitors’ profession in England and Wales have failed to achieve gender equality in practice. Equality legislation from the 1970s onwards, has still not translated to equality for women solicitors in retention, progression, partnership and equal pay in private practice. Significant numbers of women have entered the profession and remained at junior levels since the 1970s, outnumbering male entrants since 1992-3 and practising men solicitors since 2017. A gap persists between participation rates for men and women, with the number of women active in the profession reducing with age and experience. This chapter presents a practical, intersectional, socio-legal approach to overcome the barriers faced by many women solicitors, based on current issues identified by practising, non-practising solicitors and left professionals. Practical initiatives are developed to effect meaningful change in practice to maximise opportunities available for all.