IWD 2022: Billable hours and gender representation: turning nouns into verbs

LSLA Committee member, Charlotte Hill's IWD piece on billable hours and gender representation published in The Lawyer.

Law firms recognise the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion, and they recognise the need to have a diverse workplace; after all, a large number of studies demonstrate that a more diverse workplace is better for business. Many law firms have cultures and values which embed these important nouns into their business models, and many actively seek to uphold such values throughout their business, attempting to break the bias. While statistics show a slow but steady increase in diversity among all lawyers (based on the SRA’s survey of diversity carried out in 2021, when compared with its 2019 survey) the gender gap at more senior levels remains a challenge, with just 35 per cent of partners being female (compared to 61 per cent of solicitors being female). Read more >>