Women lawyers typically work 12 months for the price of 10

Equal Pay Day arrived in the UK on
4 November 2014 - earlier in the year than ever before. The day marks the point at which a full-time woman stops earning relative to the average full-time man. In 2014, women effectively worked for free for 57 days - three days longer than in 2013.

The Equal Pay Act 1970 came into force in 1975. So why, with over 40 years of equal pay law and myriad family-friendly regulations, does the gender pay gap still exist? In addition, why aren't more law firms taking action to ensure women lawyers are given the same opportunities as men to progress?

In November 2014, the Office for National Statistics' (ONS) Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings reported a "narrowing of the gender pay gap to 9.4% compared with 10.0% in 2013" based on median hourly earnings for full-time employees. While a reduction in the pay gap is a welcome sign, it really ought to be zero. In fact, a drop from 10 per cent to 9.4 per cent only really takes us back to the 9.5 per cent level achieved in 2012, since the pay gap widened during 2013.

Female bosses aged over 40 earn
35 per cent less than their male colleagues do. According to 2014 research by the Chartered Management Institute, that means they would have
to work until they were nearly 80 to
catch up with the lifetime earnings of
their male counterparts.

Legal pay gap

Despite continued focus on the issue, there is very little targeted research into
the gender pay gap within the legal profession. The general trend remains that there are more male partners, despite the fact that half of all entrants to the profession are women. In fact, the proportion of female partner promotions remains far below 50 per cent, which would be the ultimate proof of equality.

It seems ironic that the profession, which seeks to uphold the law, performs so poorly when it comes to measuring its own equality success. Firms that publish gender pay audits are rare - reflecting a widespread reluctance because they
will no doubt highlight a cavity the size
that most employees and onlookers alike would find unacceptable. A simple comparison of salary levels for employment or family lawyers (who are often female) to those in corporate or property (who are often male) will no doubt highlight widespread unfairness.

At the heart of the issue of inequality in law firms is a lack of flexibility. Despite recent changes in legislation aimed at increasing flexible arrangements for working parents, women remain the primary carers of children and elderly relatives. This represents around two-thirds of all unpaid work in the home and puts huge pressure on women to seek out part-time roles when returning to work if they want to have any chance at all of balancing work and home life. In legal services, part-time roles are rare. As such, senior female lawyers hit the glass ceiling in much the same way as women in other industries, which seems appalling since many of us are responsible for breaking new legal ground, to say nothing of the many successful equal
pay claims we have run on behalf of working women.

It is generally believed that women are paid less than men are because they have paused their careers to have children. But the ONS figures paint a different picture, suggesting that women who wait until their forties to have children suffer a pay penalty regardless. Whereas the pay gap for those under the age of 39 is relatively small, it increases markedly for those aged between 40 and 49. This is not restricted to women in part-time employment; those in full-time roles also suffer pay inequality on returning to work after having children.

Theoretically, family-friendly laws
ought to make it easier for women to balance their homes and careers. Yet,
in practice, flexible and part-time working often translates into fewer opportunities, with less scope for career development.
In addition, key client contact is often viewed as a privilege restricted to those
in full-time roles. But, I know of many women lawyers who provide a level of service and quality of work that matches any of their colleagues - delivering the same output in four days as their male colleagues produce in five. I firmly believe that clients are happy as long as their case is handled - whether that means replying to an email at 5pm or at 8pm when the children are tucked in bed.

Changes needed

What we need is a comprehensive strategy for women in legal services that tackles occupational segregation while also addressing the obstacles faced by women who return to work. Increased transparency around the pay gap is the first step to being able to make real and meaningful changes. Firms should be encouraged to carry out and publish gender pay audits, with a view not to pointing fingers but to helping the profession as a whole to set the bar for change. If we can focus on the job done rather than the hours worked, women lawyers will have a far better chance of making partner.

Linda Stewart is a partner and head of employment at Simpson Millar
(www.simpsonmillar.co.uk)