Money still the big issue between genders in law
9 Nov 05
Law Society of Scotland/EOC research reveals wide pay disparity between male and female solicitors
Pay is still the big issue between the genders, 30 years on from the Sex Discrimination Act.
That is a key finding of the biggest survey into women in the legal profession in Scotland, the results of which are published today by the Law Society of Scotland and the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), who jointly commissioned the research.
Staggering response
Around a quarter (2,300) of Scotland's 10,000 solicitors responded to the survey - a "staggering" figure according to the EOC - and their answers will provide robust data to use as a launchpad for debate and action. The research and analysis were carried out by a team from Glasgow Caledonian University.
The main themes covered by the research were work-life balance, any masculine ethos in the profession, pay and career progression.
Balanced life
The survey revealed that many women and men believe they maintain a good work-life balance (67.2%), but that over 50% of women see such balance as an issue in progressing to equity partnership. A range of family friendly policies, including paid maternity leave and part-time working, are available and taken up in the profession; but benefits such as creche facilities and childcare vouchers are fairly rare especially in private practice.
Additionally, there has been a move away from networking centred around men and male activities, but men continue to network more frequently and this appears to have a bearing on career advancement.
Widening gap
The pay gap that develops between men and women is large. Salary levels remain fairly consistent for the first five years of work, but a steadily increasing gender gap begins to emerge between six and 10 years after qualifying, which reaches its highest level at between 21 and 25 years with a 42% gap, or £36,000, in favour of men. Even when part-time workers are excluded, the gap remains about £28,000. Curiously, however, women qualified between 16 and 20 years reported higher average earnings than men of similar experience.
There are proportionately fewer women who are partners than men (1 in 5 women compared to 1 in 2 men), and those women who are partners have taken two years longer than men to get there. Additionally, more than half of women who responded believe motherhood is a barrier to becoming a partner.
The Law Society of Scotland and the EOC have agreed to work together on an action plan on how to help the profession respond to the issues raised in the research and consider what further research is needed, including revisiting the research in five years' time.
Basis for action
Rowena Arshad, EOC Scotland Commissioner, commended the Society for being the first professional body to undertake such an exercise. The findings had to be a matter of concern but the Society now had the necessary baseline data on which to plan future action. She added:
"The results offer a real chance to put equal pay on the legal profession's agenda and to ensure equality and fairness prevails in relation to pay. We also call upon other professions to examine gender issues in such a thorough and productive way."
"The response to the questionnaire has been staggering and the findings provide vital data regarding gender and careers, salaries, development opportunities and a range of other employment factors that impact upon the whole legal profession and beyond.
Caroline Flanagan, President of the Law Society of Scotland, said:
"There is a vital role for the profession to play in ensuring a firm's pay structures are transparent and fair and that they can justify different salaries, especially if individuals appear to be doing a similar job. This research is the first step in highlighting the issue of pay disparity, and the Society and the EOC will now look at ways of working with the profession to close the gap.
"Scotland is ahead of many other countries in terms of the number of women becoming solicitors, and this research, which was initiated two years ago, will paint a fuller picture of how women are progressing, what they are choosing to do in their careers and indeed how the Society can help firms accommodate growing social change within the workplace - something which is and will continue to affect all professions."
There are links to a summary and to the full report from the Society and EOC websites, www.lawscot.org.uk and www.eoc.org.uk .