Can mothers thrive in the legal sector?

In this edition, Dana Denis-Smith explores the possibility of women balancing motherhood with building successful careers in the legal sector. Despite some progress, such as increased support for flexible and remote working, challenges remain that hinder women's career progression.

This International Women’s Day, I want to also focus on a question that is often on women’s minds: “Can I be a mother and build a successful career in law?” I want to ask this question as Mother’s Day in the UK and International Women’s Day are so close to one another this year – 8 and 10 March respectively.

It’s nearly 4 years this month since the Covid pandemic forced the legal profession to adopt remote working. This was a huge change that made life easier for working mothers and introduced new working practices in a profession that had, until that point, seemed built on presenteeism and rewarding long office hours. These practices were often incompatible with the daily juggle of school drop-offs and pickups. Despite this acceptance of hybrid working, many women are still feeling the strain. There is still some way to go before the profession truly gets to grips with a problem that sees too many talented women unable to progress in their careers or drop out of the law altogether.

Legal businesses are more conscious than ever of the need to improve their working cultures to ensure they are inclusive and able to attract and retain talented lawyers. This is reflected by responses to a survey by Next 100 Years that showed employers were providing support to working mothers (and parents, generally) including flexible hours (63%) and remote working (80%). The overwhelming majority (79%) said their employers were supportive when they needed flexibility.

Despite this, of the 60% of mothers who wanted to be able to reduce their hours or work more flexibly in order to spend more time with their children, over half felt unable to do so due to the impact it would have on their career opportunities. Many cited client demands (48%) and financial pressures (62%) with 22% saying that their employer would not agree to a reduction in hours. Less than half felt they had good female role models at a senior level in their organisation, only 5% of employers provided financial help with childcare and just 21% gave paid parental leave for family illness or emergency.

Whilst outwardly supportive, there is still a feeling among the mothers I speak to that employers treat them differently to their male counterparts and that any move towards more flexible working or part-time hours could have a detrimental impact on their career prospects. We need to see a culture change in the profession, towards valuing outputs rather than inputs, with structural changes that give those with family commitments the ability to thrive and progress.

Women also have a lack of faith in law firm leadership’s willingness to tackle the gender pay gap, especially as they have to deal with cost of living increase and a childcare crisis all at once. This is not only alarming for the immediate and future careers of women in the legal industry, but also for the future of the industry itself. With inclusivity playing an increasingly large role in employee retention, such sentiments, particularly amongst the younger generation, have the potential to impact future employee turnover in the legal sector.

We need an end to excuses and focus effort on closing this huge pay discrepancy between men and women. Leaders must assess their pay structures to ensure there is equal pay for equal work. There should also be a level of transparency around pay, not only to mitigate the increasingly worrying outlook and lack of progress in the legal sector, but to also ensure that women are confident they are being paid at the right level, especially as they climb the ladder.

I believe the next generation of lawyers will continue to demand change and challenge working practices that for so long have held women back.

This generation is expecting the legal profession to shift to a business model that prioritises sustainability beyond profitability. Legal businesses that reflect the core principles of purpose, equality and environmental awareness will be the trusted partners of clients. Mindful of their own responsibilities, clients are pressing for their supply chains to reflect these new priorities. 

By Dana Denis-Smith - CEO of Obelisk Support, Founder, First 100 Years, Lawyer, DE&I leader in Legal Sector, Top B-Corp Female Founder, TEDx Speaker, and Honorary Doctorate x 2.