Evidently, the recession has enforced existing barriers, with demotions and redundancies the common subject of office gossip across law firms nationwide. Rumours surrounding the rate of female departures are circulating from within top firms including Allen & Overy, Bird & Bird and Clifford Chance. However, since HR departments are generally reluctant to comment on the exact number of redundancies (not least the gender breakdown), a grey area exists. It’s no surprise then that office sentiment is one of confusion and fear – especially if you are a woman.
If we are to believe the rumours, then the glass ceiling analogy seems a little weak. Women who do manage to make up the 15 per cent partner rate have clearly broken through the glass ceiling, only to be ousted at the top of their game. Instead, I would suggest that they are in a Wonka-esque glass elevator where the trajectory seems to be UP and OUT.
With so much debate surrounding the increased pressures placed on female partners in particular, it got me thinking about all the negative stereotypes and related issues concerning successful women. It’s fair to say that the profession has taken a bit of a media bashing recently, with stories coming out about stressed female lawyers turning to drink, drugs, and even suicide.
Do these stereotypes really have an effect on a female lawyer’s ability to advance (or even survive) within the legal profession? Are they the catalysts for redundancy?
Career vs. motherhood – pick one
Society, biology and tradition all bear a certain burden on this rather outdated ultimatum. There’s a certain age at which professional women might be expect to choose one or the other. Maternity leave is often regarded as an extended sabbatical; a kind of ‘get-out clause’ from stressful sixty-hour weeks.
‘Old boys’ networks’ or ‘laddish’ culture
An intimidating, predominantly male atmosphere can certainly act as a deterrent for both women and men. It can be hard to fit into an already established culture where a gender bias exists. In an ongoing tribunal concerning a woman who was made redundant just hours after announcing her pregnancy, she speaks of having to make an effort to be “one of the boys” if she were to have any chance of fitting in with the “laddish culture”.
Mind the gap
Unfortunately, sexism still abounds in the workplace, whether consciously or unconsciously. Pay gaps at a senior level are perhaps the most telling evidence, with women still earning significantly less than men doing the same job.
The tradition of stereotyping seems to have bred an inherent, mutual resentment between the sexes. This resentment stems from a number of factors: male lawyers covering the case load during a female lawyer’s maternity leave because the firm can’t afford (or are unwilling to spend money on) temporary cover. It stems from female lawyers who aren’t getting paid as much as their male colleagues, even though they’re doing the same job. It stems from a lack of appreciation for hours worked and effort shown. It stems from a culture where stress levels are so high that work-life balance suffers to the extreme – making it all the more harder for anyone, male or female, to succeed unless they make significant compromises.
The naturally competitive environment of a law firm has created a push-and-pull between the sexes, with both men and women vying to be the most successful, driven lawyers possible, in spite of the barriers they face. Women just seem to have that many more barriers.
I’m not saying that redundancy is an easier pill for men to swallow; it’s just that women are more likely to fear for their jobs knowing that the decision-makers are likely to be male. After all, research shows women are drastically under-represented at board level.
On the other hand, the figures of female redundancies could be skewed. There are still far fewer female partners. Consequently, the percentage of female partners who’ve been made redundant compared to men was always likely to be much higher (although obviously this wouldn’t be the case if there were more female partners in the first place!).
Whatever the exact figures, it’s certainly accurate to say that they’re disproportionate. And with some of the world’s leading firms disintegrating following the disposal of their top performing partners and executives, it begs the question: were the right decisions made? We can only speculate as to whether these decisions were gender neutral.
Undoubtedly, the ‘glass elevator effect’ (which I suggest is a product of all the negative stereotypes mentioned in this article, and many more) does make it that much harder for women to succeed (or survive) at partner level. Veiled redundancy figures aren’t helping matters. There needs to be a clear breakdown of these figures so that the problem can be addressed, rather than circulated via office gossip and fear mongering. Equally, resentment will only start to alleviate when we can break away from gender stereotypes and misconceptions. Unfortunately, I fear that may take a while…
With so much debate surrounding the increased pressures placed on female partners in particular, it got me thinking about all the negative stereotypes and related issues concerning successful women. It’s fair to say that the profession has taken a bit of a media bashing recently, with stories coming out about stressed female lawyers turning to drink, drugs, and even suicide.
Do these stereotypes really have an effect on a female lawyer’s ability to advance (or even survive) within the legal profession? Are they the catalysts for redundancy?
Career vs. motherhood – pick one
Society, biology and tradition all bear a certain burden on this rather outdated ultimatum. There’s a certain age at which professional women might be expect to choose one or the other. Maternity leave is often regarded as an extended sabbatical; a kind of ‘get-out clause’ from stressful sixty-hour weeks.
‘Old boys’ networks’ or ‘laddish’ culture
An intimidating, predominantly male atmosphere can certainly act as a deterrent for both women and men. It can be hard to fit into an already established culture where a gender bias exists. In an ongoing tribunal concerning a woman who was made redundant just hours after announcing her pregnancy, she speaks of having to make an effort to be “one of the boys” if she were to have any chance of fitting in with the “laddish culture”.
Mind the gap
Unfortunately, sexism still abounds in the workplace, whether consciously or unconsciously. Pay gaps at a senior level are perhaps the most telling evidence, with women still earning significantly less than men doing the same job.
The tradition of stereotyping seems to have bred an inherent, mutual resentment between the sexes. This resentment stems from a number of factors: male lawyers covering the case load during a female lawyer’s maternity leave because the firm can’t afford (or are unwilling to spend money on) temporary cover. It stems from female lawyers who aren’t getting paid as much as their male colleagues, even though they’re doing the same job. It stems from a lack of appreciation for hours worked and effort shown. It stems from a culture where stress levels are so high that work-life balance suffers to the extreme – making it all the more harder for anyone, male or female, to succeed unless they make significant compromises.
The naturally competitive environment of a law firm has created a push-and-pull between the sexes, with both men and women vying to be the most successful, driven lawyers possible, in spite of the barriers they face. Women just seem to have that many more barriers.
I’m not saying that redundancy is an easier pill for men to swallow; it’s just that women are more likely to fear for their jobs knowing that the decision-makers are likely to be male. After all, research shows women are drastically under-represented at board level.
On the other hand, the figures of female redundancies could be skewed. There are still far fewer female partners. Consequently, the percentage of female partners who’ve been made redundant compared to men was always likely to be much higher (although obviously this wouldn’t be the case if there were more female partners in the first place!).
Whatever the exact figures, it’s certainly accurate to say that they’re disproportionate. And with some of the world’s leading firms disintegrating following the disposal of their top performing partners and executives, it begs the question: were the right decisions made? We can only speculate as to whether these decisions were gender neutral.
Undoubtedly, the ‘glass elevator effect’ (which I suggest is a product of all the negative stereotypes mentioned in this article, and many more) does make it that much harder for women to succeed (or survive) at partner level. Veiled redundancy figures aren’t helping matters. There needs to be a clear breakdown of these figures so that the problem can be addressed, rather than circulated via office gossip and fear mongering. Equally, resentment will only start to alleviate when we can break away from gender stereotypes and misconceptions. Unfortunately, I fear that may take a while…
Natalie Harris
Editor, totallylegal
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