Women in Law – the benefits of equality in the legal profession

Caroline Watkins, EMW Law LLP’s Gatwick construction partner, offers some personal insights into equality in the legal world and the balancing of gender representation over the years.

As a grammar school and university graduate from Tunbridge Wells, I was an optimist at the time of embarking on my legal career.  The need for diversity hadn’t particularly crossed my mind.  I had good female role models throughout school and university and generally had no reason to believe that my entry into the legal market would be in any way impeded by my gender.

I completed my training at a City firm and soon the rose-tinted scales began to fall.  A partnership board of 95% men was unfortunately par for the course in most firms. I started to understand gender bias, conscious and unconscious, and developed a healthy dose of imposter syndrome.  As a relatively junior lawyer, I watched a good friend of mine walk out of her office in tears after she’d been informed that her salary increase was less than her male comparators for the third year running.  No-one seemed to be able to tell her why, and complaining to senior management felt like going against the hard-nosed professional exterior most of us were trying to assume at that time (you fake it till you make it, right?).

It was around that point that I became something that was an utter anathema to the general expectations of an aspiring female City lawyer; a sole parent.  Suddenly beholden to the demands of the most unreasonable boss at home as well as the less slightly unreasonable demands of clients, the guilt of failing to deliver on both fronts was massive.  It turned out I was delivering; work liked me and I liked them, and it seems that my son even likes me occasionally, but I had no idea – I was overwhelmed with my own perceived failure. 

What can be done?

I have learned a lot since then and become better at setting boundaries.  I’m still a people pleaser; I think most lawyers are as providers of professional services.  We like our clients and we want to do our best for them.  That should always be a given.  I have also learned that there is always a way of getting the best out of people using appropriate performance expectations, mentoring and responsive management, in order to ensure that someone delivering at home and at work doesn’t end up drowning and failing on both counts. This is supported by diary management, effective communication with clients, keeping to deadlines and the use of smart technology which records not only time but documents, contact with clients and business development to give employers comfort that the agreed performance targets are being met.

Flexible working

“The term “flexible working” is often heard but the scope of it is misunderstood; legislation sets out the circumstances in which an employee can make a request for flexible working and a flexible working policy is a common requirement for employers. But if an employer wishes to fully equip their prospective workforce with a remit in which they can best perform, we have seen that since the pandemic this is best achieved by adopting a flexible attitude and approach. Measures such as flexibility in working from home and compressed or reduced hours are excellent examples of good practice but the gold star goes to employers that actively tackle gender bias, create opportunities that are available to all and have the insight to recognise and develop skills in the workforce that optimise the offering of the business in a manageable way. 

Here at EMW, we have a progressive approach including the ability to work remotely from anywhere for up to 4 weeks per year.  This is certainly something that has helped me manage my family commitments (particularly school holidays) alongside the demands of work.  The leadership team at EMW Gatwick is fully gender-balanced and we are backed by the rest of the partnership being of the view that a flexible approach is vital to our success.

Where are we now?

With 60% of entrants to the legal profession since 1990 being female, it is difficult to see why there isn’t gender equality at partnership level on the basis of this statistic alone. Yet the Law Society, now on its seventh female president, has published the Women in Law Pledge to which businesses can sign up as a way of making a commitment to supporting the progression of women into senior roles by focusing on retention and promotion opportunities, and setting clear plans and targets around gender equality and diversity.  It is clear that there is still work to be done.

The Equality Act 2010, which sets out legal framework to protect the rights of individuals from discrimination and advance equality of opportunity for all, is 23 this year.  Case law within the UK (and the EU) has provided further guidance on its provisions since its implementation. The UK Government has produced a very useful gender equality roadmap for change which tackles the issue at the policy end of things, illustrating the limiting attitudes to gender that start before school even begins. Media-wise, we have experienced moments such as Australian Senator Larissa Waters breastfeeding her baby while moving a motion in the Australian Federal Parliament in 2017.  Perhaps the endgame is where we have a working environment where the Pledge is no longer necessary because this is already incorporated into our society and the alerts in the UK Government roadmap no longer accurately represent the British attitude to gender equality.  And it’s normal to be able to feed the baby and still do your job well.

Expectations of lawyers should be high; the profession needs to keep evolving, striving for excellence and putting the needs of clients first.  It’s why I entered the rewarding, challenging legal world in the first place.  High expectations that are realistic should encourage good performance, not confound it by setting lawyers up to fail with unreachable targets or badly-managed client relationships. Thanks to recognition and intervention from the relevant authorities we are watching the sea change, and my optimism for the future is not diminished. 

Caroline Watkins
Principal
0345 074 2496
Caroline.Watkins@emwllp.com
www.emwllp.com