It is 100 years next year since women were first accepted as solicitors. The incoming president of the law society is female. Forty eight percent of lawyers are too (vs 47% of the general workforce). This all looks like progress. Predictably, the picture is lagging in top roles with just one third of partners being women.
We often think of law as very well paid, but lawyers often work very long hours and salary variations are huge. While a corporate solicitor in London, when starting, can be paid £90,000, a new provincial lawyer may earn below minimum hourly wage.
Seven percent of children attend private school, yet they make up 44% of those in the high-paying law firms. For well paid junior roles, the recent shift has not been toward women but specifically toward rich, privileged women. Ethnically the story is similar with privately educated Asians dominating, leaving behind state-schooled black girls, for example.
Law looks likely to achieve equality without any danger of becoming a meritocracy.
How much does the exclusion of the majority of the best women from a profession threaten gender equality?