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Do women hold the key to the future?
By Simon Tupman
Over the past few months, I have met many lawyers and law firm managers in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand and have had the opportunity to gauge their perceptions about what the law firm of the future might look like. Not surprisingly, the role that women might play has emerged as one of the topics for discussion. Co-incidentally, the Women in Law column in Lawyers Weekly has mirrored many of the comments made to me by lawyers and legal administrators, both on and off the record.
Some men may wonder why women should be singled out for special mention, particularly as the legal profession, like society, has become much more diverse and equal in recent years. However, I believe that the topic of women in the law does merit special consideration.
I think it is undisputed that in the past 40 years women have revolutionised society, particularly with regards to its attitudes towards them, marriage, work, politics, and parenting.
Since Rosalind Bax became the first equity partner of a major City law firm with Coward Chance back in the early 70's, women in the law have not only made great strides for themselves but, perhaps unwittingly, are now giving men permission to follow their lead!
There are plenty of women in the profession internationally and the numbers are growing. And so is their influence. In New Zealand, until recently, all five constitutional positions were held by women, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Governor General chief Justice and Attorney General. In Australia, the percentages of women holding positions of authority in the legal profession are increasing and in some instances, women are in the majority. More women are now entering the profession from university than men.
All this would suggest that women are taking over the 'asylum'. A harsh word to use in reference to the legal profession but onethat has a ring of truth about t, specifically with regard to the working practices established by men. In conversation with Steve Keeva, journalist and author of the bestselling 'Transforming Practices', he told me about what he sees as the 'rising misery index' within the profession, describing the lifestyle of a lawyer in the US as 'a toxic way to live'. Every year, statistics from various surveys tend to corroborate Keeva's assertion, or at least, levels of dissatisfaction with life as a lawyer. Many firms, including some of London's leading firms now accept that their biggest challenge is the competition for people and that one way to overcome that challenge is to support flexible work practices. It is in this regard that I believe the influence of women has been particularly significant.
Historically, many women entering the legal profesion have had two choices to make as they advance their careers; either compete with men full on and win power on merit or choose an alternative route to professional success and fulfilment that involves balancing or integrating work and domestic commitments. Some have chosen the latter path in the self-knowledge that being a partner in a law firm or having power is not the cornerstone of their identities. This latter approach is now finding favour, even in the conservative corridors of major institutions in the City of London which, as a recent report carried out by UK charity PARENTS AT WORK identified, is characterised by a 'macho' culture that militates against flexible working practices.
While women have been influential in shaping new work practices such as child care, maternity and paternity leave, job sharing, flexitime, and working from home, they face considerable challenges if they are to become even more influential according to Gillian Davidson, partner at Sparke Helmore (where she is one of 45 partners, 23% of whom are women).
She remains cautiously optimistic about the future of women in the law, believing the real challenge for women lies not within the legal profession but within 'corporate Australia': "I think it is certain that there will be more women partners, but until women start getting on the boards of publicly-listed companies, their ability to significantly influence is not going to occur quickly ."
Her experience at Sparke Helmore is in stark contrast to the prevailing negative attitudes of many male partners towards work/life balance which remain an internal obstacle for many firms and one which will take time to overcome.
Not only can it be tough for women partners but also women in management. The role of management has taken on much greater significance over the past 10 years with many senior management or administrative positions in firms held by women. In British Columbia for example, it seems there is still a gender imbalance between fee earners and administrators. In Vancouver, approximately 95% of partners are men while 95% of administrators are women. This gender imbalance can be problematic according to Cathy Jacobs, administrator with Vancouver-based intellectual property lawyers Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala. She believes that male partners and female administrators still don't know how best to work together and that until administrators are allowed to 'get on with their job', tensions will still arise.
There's no doubt that in the last 30 years, women have achieved much in the profession for themselves and for the profession as a whole. Perhaps the current situation is best expressed by social researcher Hugh Mackay. In his book, Turning Point, referring to the gender revolution, he wrote: 'women are quite capable of working out what they want and men have learned to accept that much, at least'.
Progress indeed, but, I sense, much more is yet to come. Watch this space.
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