C R E AT I N G A J U S T C U LT U R E
▴ Ann Brennan, Chief Legal Advisor, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
tasked to a woman because they are a “safe pair of hands”. In this way many smart young women are punished for their own skills because partners are simply defaulting to the easiest way of getting work done. But this makes the transition from “most valued junior” to being a leader of the firm more difficult, with women having fewer opportunities to demonstrate they’re also great at the “business of law”. When seeking to step up, unconscious bias bites again: men are generally seen as more “commercial”, that is, more likely to have what it takes to bring in clients/ fees. The research is clear that women are generally promoted on demonstrated skills and men on potential, so succession planning and assessments of associate and partnership applications are particularly impacted. And if all this wasn’t enough, women also often get less help from support staff and yet face greater pastoral care expectations from both legal and support staff. Outside of work, women still carry a disproportionate amount of the mental load and unpaid responsibilities within our homes and communities. Of course, this impacts on both desire and capacity to progress within firms. These wider responsibilities are also part of the unconscious bias at play when firms are assessing who they see as being able to take on partnership responsibilities. So how do individual women who want 40
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▴ Fionnghuala Cuncannon, Partner, Meredith Connell
▴ Steph Dyhrberg, Co-founder, Dyhrberg Drayton
to progress in large law firms tackle these issues? I suggest: 1 It is vital to understand the difference between sponsors and mentors and ensure you have both. Without sponsors, it is impossible to progress in a firm. 2 Focusing on developing your business case. Being a good lawyer is a given; it is not the basis on which partnership decisions are made. 3 Actively seeking out opportunities for client facing work and involvement in pitches for new work. Make it clear that you understand your skillset needs to be broader than your technical legal skills and make sure goals to develop these other skills are part of your development discussions. None of this is to suggest that the responsibility for change lies only with individual women. Law firms will continue to be the poorer if they don’t confront the structural and cultural issues that inhibit the progress of many of their best and brightest. For all of us who care about these issues we must continue to challenge unconscious bias, call out issues, and actively promote opportunities for women at all levels.
Steph Dyhrberg, Co-founder, Dyhrberg Drayton Why are they leaving? The legal profession can be a harsh environment, with overwork, bullying, harassment and sexual assault. Many women discover it is not what they want to do – they find something else they want more. Up to 25% of people who experience sexual harassment will leave their job and many will leave the profession. There is also the inflexibility of legal jobs with children and families. The whole equation means it’s just not worth it. We are eating our young: we raise them, educate them, give them amazing experiences, celebrate them, and avidly recruit them – then either use them as cannon fodder or let them experience