PRESS / SPEECHES

The Women Lawyers’ Association of New South Wales (WLANSW) has consolidated publicly available information about law firms and the gender profile of solicitors in these firms into one readily accessible table to assist lawyers in making decisions about their employment, and to promote discussion and debate about the advancement of women in the profession.

The data disclosed has been collated in categories such as:

–   Women as a percentage of partners, both total and equity;
–   Level of paid parental leave offered by the firms;
–   Whether the firms are Employers of Choice as recognised by the Equal Opportunity of Women in the Workforce Agency; and
–   Whether the firms are corporate members of WLANSW.

Firms have then been assessed against the average measure of women as a percentage of all partners on the basis of figures collected by the Law Society of New South Wales from 2010 data.

WLANSW accepts that the data is not perfect or complete, and that an assessment on only one measure is not a guarantee of how any individual would fare at any particular firm. However, the table introduces a starting point for discussion and monitoring of change over time.

With the growing number of women in the profession it is expected that over time the level of female representation in senior positions in law firms will also increase. WLANSW intends to update this table on an annual basis so that progress can be tracked.

Firms that do not appear in the list, or have incomplete data available are welcome to contact WLANSW so that the data can be included.

For further information and enquiries please contact Kathryn McKenzie, Executive Officer at executive@womenlawyersnsw.org.au or on 0466 157 087.