Gender diversity in law: dawn of a new era or a case of the old guard?

Affinity groups, targets, mentors; there are many ways that firms are trying to address the disparity between the number of male and female partners. But is it working? We speak to senior women from a variety of firms to find out their views on the road to equality, the initiatives their firms are employing and how the female partners of the future can help themselves.

The feminist movement seems to be enjoying a renaissance at the moment, with powerful and successful campaigns such as No More Page Three, the Everyday Sexism project, women on banknotes and mothers on marriage certificates all making headway. There is a general sense that after a period of complacency, the movement has been re-energised by an awareness that the battle for gender equality is not yet won. However, whether the egalitarian ideals that suffuse these campaigns have also reached that most traditional of professions, law, remains to be seen.

For many years now, the great majority of law firms have each had a diversity policy in place, to guide recruitment and promotion behaviours, among other things (although as is so often the case, good intentions on paper don't always translate to practical action). Nevertheless, these issues are on the collective radar and, in just the past couple of months, there have been numerous mentions in the legal press of firms tackling gender diversity issues. Here are but a few:

• Equalities minister calls for change in culture at law firms to address gender disparity in pay and working conditions (Law Gazette, 3 February).
• LexisNexis and Cambridge Judge Business School launch publication to celebrate achievements of women in law (Legal Futures, 26 March).
• Bright Network research reveals its female members place law as number one sector choice (LawCareers.Net, 1 April).
• Women made up nearly one-third of new partner appointments at magic circle firms (Law Gazette, 28 April).
• Several firms feature in Times Top 50 employers for women (LawCareers.Net, 30 April).
• A&O launches ‘back to work' initiative for women returning from maternity leave to help meet gender targets (Legal Business, 1 May).

In our Insight section, the disparity between men and women at partner level is clear with just one glance - of the 44 firms for which we have data for 2014, just one firm saw female partnership hit the 50% mark (well done Kingsley Napley!). The figures were similar in 2013 and worse still in 2012 - not a single firm represented in the graph hit 50% female partnership rate. However, as expected, when you consider all lawyers - ie, partners, associates and trainees - the numbers are much more evenly balanced. In fact, at 29 of the 44 firms, women equal or outnumber men.

What do these figures tell us? It is clear that the number of women coming up through the ranks is substantial, and they are gaining training contracts and going on to be retained. So what's happening at the top of these legal organisations? Where are all the women? And what are firms doing (if anything) to redress the balance?

Let's get together

Affinity groups, mentoring/sponsor programmes, client and other networking events - these are just some of the ways in which firms are helping to address the issue of equality and support women within their organisations.

Baker & McKenzie is proud if its long history of diversity, including being the first major global law firm to appoint a female head when Christine Lagarde became "Madame Chairman". It runs many affinity groups - BakerLGBT/Allies, BakerWellbeing, BakerEthnicity, BakerOpportunity and, of course, BakerWomen. Justine Thompson, inclusion & diversity manager at the firm, describes a recent initiative: "We have a very active network in BakerWomen, which includes both men and women by the way! One of the initiatives we held this year to coincide with International Women's Day was a breakfast event focusing on ‘Gravitas and Mindfulness'. We feel strongly that it is critical to engage both men and women in the debate around gender, and the event attracted men and women from all levels across the firm in high numbers!"

This year's winner of the Commendation for Diversity at the 2015 LC.N Awards, also winning in 2010, Shoosmiths has a female CEO and often features high in the Diversity League Table, as the Top 100 Firm with the highest levels of ethnic and gender diversity. Danielle Owens, Shoosmiths' head of recruitment, says that there is no one way of implementing equality and diversity "good practice" - the firm instead relies on several techniques, including affinity groups: "They can certainly support our broader objectives for a diverse workforce, and anything that encourages networking, communication and collaboration will help. In 2012 the firm set up the Working Parents Group, which comprises male and female staff who have recently experienced parenthood and understand first-hand the emotional and practical issues that arise from a new family."

Another former winner of the LC.N Commendation for Diversity, Hogan Lovells has historically been very strong in terms of female leadership - legacy firm Lovells was one of the first in London to have a female managing partner. The firm has a Women's Network, designed to enable women to connect with, and learn from, each other, including by way of a mentoring programme, client events and a guest speaker series, where women from all professions (particularly business and politics) come to the firm to share their experiences. Alison Unsted, senior manager of diversity and wellbeing, says: "It has been very successful. The speakers offer insight into their personal and career journeys, views on gender quality and so on. And it really shows that these aren't super women - they're just normal humans, like the rest of us!"

Sarah Pearce, a partner in the technology transactions group of the London office of Cooley LLP, takes the view that there is certainly a place for affinity groups, but not to "exclusive effect". She explains: "I think that any such group must think not in a vacuum regarding women's issues, but rather think how those issues may affect men and men's interests. Without this, you lose their support and buy-in, which ultimately is what is needed if anything is going to change."

More broadly, Cooley takes the issue of gender imbalance very seriously and addresses it in a variety of ways. "We have a very active global Women's Initiative," explains Sarah. "We meet regularly as a group on a conference call and are constantly striving to improve diversity within the firm. We host regular dinners for women in the London office and we organise events and seminars on a local basis (conferencing in other offices where appropriate) covering a topical issue and if at all possible, one which encourages the involvement of men (and the male partners) too. One of the other female partners on the Women's Initiative committee, Ann Bevitt, was recently listed in the Power Part Time list 2014. All this high-level involvement ensures that gender diversity remains one of the topics at the top of the firm's agenda."

Hitting those targets

A&O is not alone in setting gender targets (see news story above). Hogan Lovells' global diversity strategy includes the following prescription: 25% women in partnership by 2017, 30% by 2022 and 30% in management by 2015 (a target that has already been met). Alison comments: "The targets have helped to really focus the mind; these are not quotas, we're not recruiting or promoting on anything other than merit, but we are looking at redressing the balance."

Similarly, in 2012 Baker & McKenzie was one of the first firms to introduce Global Aspirational Targets for gender diversity - increasing the percentage of female equity partners to 30%, the percentage of female junior equity partners to 40% and the number of leadership roles occupied by females to 30%. Justine says: "The targets acted internally as a call to action. We have a comprehensive action plan, which focuses on taking practical steps to ensure that we're retaining our top female performers, nurturing their talent and trying to understand the different challenges facing men and women as they progress through their careers."

Danielle comments: "There is always more work to do, but I am proud of the achievements we have already made; 35% of our partnership and 69% of our total workforce is female." Certainly, having strong role models within the firm helps: "It develops a culture that is receptive to the promotion of top talent. Our chief executive, Claire Rowe, trained with the firm and has herself returned to work following periods of maternity leave."

Follow the leader

The overall impression seems to be that where once law lagged beyond some of the other professional services, it is now surging ahead when it comes to diversity. "Law was a follower, but I think it's leading the way now," comments Alison. "I think the change is fast-paced, much more so than in some other organisations.  And it's linked to all types of diversity - for example, our LGBT group is now very active and engaging lots of people, and is a reflection of the fact that the shift in culture has been stark."

In terms of whether law firms are out in front on these issues, Danielle thinks that the legal sector benefits from is the fact that it appeals to female students and graduates: "With around 62% of all law undergraduate students women, at Shoosmiths we receive more applications from women than men for our graduate schemes. The challenges we face in the profession are around retention and career progression, but I feel that we are heading in the right direction." She makes the point that publication of the Diversity League Table and the SRA's requirement that all firms publish their diversity data help to raise awareness of "best practice across the profession, with many firms now taking steps to build a talented workforce within an inclusive environment".

On the point of why there continue to be many fewer women at partner level, Alison suggests some compelling reasons: "There are structural issues, around the way professional services firms are very client facing, with lawyers needing to be available 24/7. Societally, women are still the primary caregivers, and ultimately that means there is a bias. But I think that with things like shared parental leave [which came into force on 5 April 2015] and men keen to take a bigger role at home, we will continue to see a shift. And while we can't change society as a whole, we can address attitudes in our own organisation."

What lies ahead?

Clearly, strides are being made and firms are taking gender issues - along with all the many other strands of diversity - seriously. It does seem, however, that we remain some distance from truly equitable representation at the highest levels of the UK legal profession. How should young women at university and law school feel about their options and career progression?

In Alison's opinion, there has never been a better time to join the legal profession, but complacency is not an option: "My advice would be to do what you want to do. But ultimately, you're the only person who really cares about your career, so take control of it. No one will promote you just because you're a good worker. You need to make it clear that you want it. In fact, I've been inspired by the female speakers we've had in and have changed my tactics, become more assertive, and it has paid off."

Justine also has a positive message to give to female students: "The legal profession, similar to others in the City, has stepped up and realised that achieving gender equality at the top of the profession is a business imperative. Organisations have engaged with the fact that they need to make sure they are creating environments where women can succeed to the same extent as their male counterparts. So use whatever opportunities you have available to you - grad rec events, vac schemes, networking - successful role models. Commercial law is a tough environment, for men and women, and you need to be realistic about that. If you have concerns such as whether you have the resilience to succeed, or about balancing work and home, don't be afraid to ask those questions. Find mentors, sponsors and be proactive in seeking out those who can share  their experiences of how to make it work."

Finally, Sarah offers her view from the frontline on what makes being a partner in a City firm so enjoyable - "it is the people and the encouraging, entrepreneurial environment that really makes our firm stand out and, well, makes me look forward to my working day in the office" - as well as some pithy words of advice for those who would follow in her footsteps: "Don't make a big deal of being a woman; work to your best ability at all times and just do it!"

For a detailed breakdown of gender stats in 2014, as well as financial and other key information about firms, visit our Firm Insight section.