Advocate Vicky Milner, who set up law firm Callington Chambers, said that, despite more women graduating in law than men, a much smaller proportion make it to the top of the profession.
Her data shows that, as of last year, just over two-thirds of law graduates were female, but women made up only a third of partners in large UK law firms. In Jersey, there is just one woman for every 7.5 men in the six largest firms.
Advocate Milner said: ‘In Jersey, the position is twice as bad [as the UK]. Jersey’s major law firms primarily service the financial services industry and look to replicate what they perceive to be the successes of London’s city law firms, which may include working unsafe hours and practices such as taking male clients to male-orientated entertainment venues or events.’
She cites one example of a training provider in Jersey using the film The Wolf of Wall Street as part of a public seminar.
‘This is a good film and I enjoyed it, watching it from the comfort of my own home. However, as a woman, I would have been mortified if I had been required by an employer to watch this film with male colleagues, using it as a what-not-to-do training tool, given the explicit women-as-sex-objects content of the film.’
Advocate Milner has presented a detailed submission to a group of politicians investigating the gender pay gap in Jersey. She believes any sexism which leads to a gender pay gap in Island law firms is ‘unconscious’, adding that many law firm partners are ‘kind, generous and paternalistic’.
She said: ‘Partners at leading law firms will often emphatically proclaim that they promote only on merit, and that they will feel insulted if allegations of bias or sexism are raised. What promotion on merit usually means is that they promote to partnership on the basis of fee income. However, women often choose to work in or are encouraged to work in teams which undertake less remunerative but emotionally rewarding work, such as family, legal aid or employment law.’
Responding to her concerns, Neville Benlow, chief executive of the Jersey Law Society, said: ‘Traditionally male-dominated, the legal profession is changing, with more women than men now qualifying as lawyers, both globally and in Jersey. In the last ten years, women have accounted for almost 52 per cent of new advocates and solicitors in Jersey, up from 43 per cent between 1990 and 2017.’
Mr Benlow acknowledged the under-representation of female partners in local law firms, but said things were changing.
‘Addressing this imbalance is not something that can be achieved overnight, nor can it be forced on firms. However, with an increasing number of businesses in every sector seeing the benefits of having a diverse workforce in terms of better client relationships, increased productivity and positive staff engagement, it is hoped that this will lead to greater representation of women at partner level in law firms and other businesses.’
The Gender Pay Gap Review Panel, being led by Deputy Louise Doublet, has already determined that men hold the majority of senior roles in the public sector. It is now reviewing a range of submissions and evidence from the private sector.
