Women Leaders in Law Summit in Lisbon

The Women in Law Foundation (WLF) was established in July 2019 by Kamila Kurkowska and has rapidly become a force within the legal industry in Poland. Kamila wanted to create a forum where female lawyers could share their experiences as she found there was a lack of an institution to represent the interests of female lawyers. The Foundation has now been in operation for over four years and has many achievements to its credit:

• completing the fourth edition of a mentoring programme for young female lawyers

• conducting the first survey in Poland on the situation of women in the legal industry (600 female lawyers responded to our questionnaire).

• creating an anti-discrimination guide for women in business.

• Creating a list of the top 25 female lawyers in business with the Polish edition of Forbes Women. (Third year recently completed).

WLF regularly organises events on topics important to women lawyers and has recorded more than 30 episodes of the video podcast "The Right to a Voice": interviews with prominent women lawyers.

Below is the speech given by Kamila Kurkowska founder of WLF, at the Lisbon Women Leaders Summit.

Future for Women leaders in Law is Bright

“Have you ever felt discriminated against because you are a woman?

Have you or your female colleagues from law school, law firm or the institution you work for not been promoted or given a raise, just because they were women?

I don't know the answer to what the scale of discrimination against women lawyers is in Europe, but I do know what it is like in Poland. I am sure that there are countries in Europe where the situation of women lawyers is better, but I also know that there are countries where it is even worse. For the sake of the moment, let's assume that Poland is somewhere in the middle.

Two years ago, as the Women in Law Foundation, together with the Polish Association of Corporate Lawyers and PwC Legal Poland, we conducted a survey among Polish women lawyers. Almost 600 women lawyers responded to us.

What were the key data and conclusions of the report?

(a) 85% of women in the legal industry have experienced a diminishing of their competencies due to their gender.

(b) 71% feel that being a woman negatively impacts decisions regarding their career progression.

(c) 49% struggle to balance their professional careers with personal life.

(d) 15% have endured sexual harassment at work, a painful reality for far too many.

(e) Female lawyers often encounter challenges in promotions and returning to work after maternity leave.

Violations of personal boundaries are unequivocally negative and should be strongly condemned and thoroughly analyzed by industry stakeholders, including bar associations.

Workplace bullying is an issue that more than half of Polish female lawyers have encountered, and it is particularly prevalent among younger professionals. However, the most alarming statistic is that 85%