What is the profession doing to recognise family values?

Women have been around for a long time. Longer, even, than Solicitors Journal itself. It therefore seems implausible that women hadn't entered the profession when the Journal started out, almost 160 years ago. Although equality in the profession has clearly come a long way, there is much still to be done.

SJ supported a 'Women in Legal' conference this week, and I was fortunate enough to speak at it. Far from being a women-only event, a key theme was the significance of men in pursuing the cause for women in the workplace. Even writing that in 2015 seems laughable, but what became obvious was that so much change has happened because of men, not necessarily in spite of them.

The digital and technology sector has similarly been affected by an oversupply of testosterone in its recent boom years, but has nonetheless led a family-friendly agile working revolution, and is working hard to encourage more female entrants and senior executive postings.

Celebrating the birth of his first child this week, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg not only announced he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, would be giving away much of their wealth, but that they would both be taking a period of leave. That's fine if you're the boss (and one of the wealthiest on the planet), but not everyone can afford the luxury. So what is the legal profession doing to recognise family values, and who is leading on it?

For a start, flexible working is no longer seen as a concession to women juggling work with the school run. A new generation demanding new ways of working and the rising costs of real estate, particularly in the City, mean a reduction in office-based workers, but also a reduction in overheads. A win-win? Perhaps, but if the reason for change is economic and not cultural, the confidence in employees may be diminished. It's all in the delivery.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has joined the revolution too, demanding firms publish their diversity statistics. But, the refrain of lies and statistics comes to mind. There may be women in work, but if those women have no voice, no power, and are not the role models junior employees – male and female – aspire to, the job is still not done.

True equality means equality in choice, fair treatment, and parity with peers – and the choice of whether to apply for partnership in the knowledge that you will be considered on a level footing, without bias, and without assumptions made about your life or lifestyle, whether that bias is conscious or not.

It also means choice for clients. The SRA's interest is in encouraging a profession that reflects the diversity of the client base. It stands to reason that clients will work best with people they can relate to, at all levels. It also goes that they will expect their advisers to grow with them and rise through their career accordingly. With a similar number of women to men entering the profession, how can it be that 73 per cent of partners are still men?

You'll hear much more about the First 100 Years project in the coming months. Will 2016 be the eventual year of the woman, or will we need to wait another 100 years to reach gender parity in our profession? I think the demand for change will be led by clients, and much sooner than the profession expects.

Kevin Poulter is SJ's editor at large and a legal director at Bircham Dyson Bell @kevinpoulter