Law360 UK: Melinda Wallman on Women Lawyers' Satisfaction
Law360 released the results of its inaugural UK Lawyer Satisfaction Survey this week, revealing that “female attorneys reported lower levels of satisfaction compared to their male peers over everything from finances to stress levels and billable-hour requirements.” What’s driving this disparity? Melinda Wallman, a partner in London, shared some insight.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
Women in the legal industry who responded to Law360 UK Pulse's inaugural Lawyer Satisfaction Survey were more inclined than men to characterize their financial stability as average or poor. And only 19% reported excellent financial stability, compared with 36% of men. Women represented slightly more than half — 52% — of the survey's 156 respondents… The U.K. government requires businesses with 250 employees or more to report their gender pay figures. And the data shows that women in the largest law firms earn 25% less than men, according to the Law Society and the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Melinda Wallman, a former lawyer and now a recruiter at Macrae Inc., stressed the issues of women falling behind their peers during the years when they are having children.
‘I've been through it, most of my candidates have been through it,’ Wallman, who recruits partners for the top U.K. law firms, said. ‘You're trying to manage slowing things down while staying on track, and it's very, very difficult.’
And oftentimes, women are ‘just so grateful’ to have been given maternity leave that they don't push back on their contract when they come back to work, the recruiting firm partner explained.
‘So you get left behind a little bit,’ she said.
…
Men and women however reported being similarly satisfied with advancement opportunities: 42% of women and 40% of men were satisfied or very satisfied, according to Law360 UK Pulse's survey.
Macrae's Wallman said women now have a lot more advancement opportunities than they used to, and women having those opportunities means men ‘not having as many opportunities as they used to have — because they used to have 100% of the opportunities.’
We encourage you to read the article in full here: Lawyering More Stressful, Less Profitable For Women
