Wellbeing in the Legal Profession

Wellbeing

Wellbeing in the Legal Profession

Sssssshhh… Are we still too quiet on women-centred issues as a profession?

It’s great to see wellbeing discussed more than ever by employers, but are there issues that either disproportionately or uniquely affect women that we’re still too silent on?

I’m talking about the stuff of the everyday. The stuff that, to be honest, we probably needed to conceal when we started to break into male-dominated businesses over half a century ago, in order to conform and demonstrate that women can achieve exactly the same as men. I’m talking about periods, menopause, family planning and caring, and how they can complicate our path to success and impact on our wellbeing.

Some of these cycles and milestones can be really hard for women to balance alongside careers. But how are employers meant to help? And is it their role? I’d suggest that in a legal profession where, in Scotland, 70% of newly admitted solicitors are female, it’s vital to think about.

Do we really need to talk about periods?

Menstruation is a monthly inevitability for a lot of working women. Generally, we’ll have got used to the signs and symptoms that we get on a regular basis since being at school. But even though we’re used to it, the challenging physical realities of being ‘on’ don’t always improve, just because they’re normal for us.

But how many of us can make any adjustments to our working days to make ourselves as comfortable as possible when we’re on our period? Do we feel like we can be open with our employers?

“As a lawyer in the construction industry, I can often be the only woman in a room. My biggest distress in these situations is that the specific needs of a woman throughout the day can often be neglected. The lack of sufficient rest breaks during lengthy meetings can lead to embarrassing excusals to the toilet and potentially missing key information during such a break. The lack of sanitary product provisions within office and site toilets can further this embarrassment when we are forced to strategically carry a sanitary product to the bathroom.”

Some workplaces have gone so far as to implement what is commonly called ‘period leave’, like Nike back in 2007. But ‘period leave’ can be hotly contested, with some citing that these policies can hold women back in their careers or be a source of discrimination. Yet, according to menstrual health researcher Sally King, the answer does lie in properly implementing policies: “flexible working practices and not penalising sick leave would help enormously. Many employers already do this, because such practices have been shown to improve employee retention and performance, and to reduce absences, too.”

Research suggests that we’re not able to be as open as we can be, which isn’t helpful. According to research conducted in 2017 and published by the British Medical Journal, a total of 13.8% of women reported absenteeism during their menstrual periods. But when women called in sick due to their periods, only 20.1% told their employer or school that their absence was due to menstrual complaints. Notably, 67.7% of the participants wished they had greater flexibility in their tasks and working hours at work or school during their periods.

“I typically have one or two days of severe pain. If this falls on work time, it can be difficult to deal with, with nausea and pain impacting meetings. However, last time, I took the decision to email my boss and simply say “I have my period and feel terrible”. His reply was that he has two daughters and a wife and totally gets it. He was supportive and unperturbed.”

When is the right time to plan for a family when trying to build a successful career?

While planning a family does impact everyone involved, it is usually a woman who feels the biological pressure of ‘the clock’ and takes more time off on maternity leave. This can be our choice, but often parental leave provisions dictate reality. The planning involved in family versus career is, I suspect, where the gender pay gap properly takes hold, rather than maternity leave. The moves that we do or don’t make early in the legal profession will influence our future careers and can been keenly felt by those just starting out in law.

“I would have thought I would have started a family by now. The idea of having to take maternity leave during my traineeship is not ideal, as I have worked hard for so long to get myself qualified. By the time I qualify I will be turning 33 and although I know these days it doesn't sound very old to be starting a family, you don't ideally want to start a job and then take maternity leave immediately.”

“In an ideal world I wouldn't want to have to sit down and meticulously plan when we could fit in children. I would say, wanting to be successful and have children are two of the most natural feelings in the world. It is upsetting that we are finding it so hard to balance both.”

What about employers who introduce enhanced paternity leave in an attempt to level the playing field?

“I fought last year to improve paternity provision. My rationale was that, as the only female on the management team, I didn’t want to take 9 months off and have my male colleagues take only 1 week (self-serving motivation I know!). I was successful, but the first male to benefit has decided to work and not take leave but for a few random days here and there. I feel this sets a bad example for younger male colleagues and perhaps even sets an expectation for the females. Impact is to be seen!”

Without making a concerted effort to normalise parental leave, we’ll just end up with another policy that doesn’t actually make a difference. It’s my belief that sharing parental leave also has an impact far beyond a child’s first year and would lead to more equality in future childcare responsibilities.

Navigating the menopause

Once the preserve of hushed conversations or, probably more likely, no conversations, employers are turning their attention to the menopause.

“I recently attended a workplace talk on the menopause and, as someone in my 30s, it opened my eyes to the fact I knew nothing about its impact. After, I spoke to my mum about it, who admitted that she had experienced several episodes so bad over the years that she wasn’t able to climb up or down stairs at all and didn’t properly sleep for months due to overheating. She hid that well.”

Menopause is a time of huge physical and mental change for many women. According to figures shared in the House of Commons in 2018, 50% of working women found doing their job challenging due to menopausal symptoms and 10% left the workplace altogether.

The Police Federation of England & Wales are at the forefront of facilitating a conversation and actions around menopause. Its new guidance outlines comprehensive actions line managers can take to support colleagues including considering the physical demands of the job, looking at flexible options and correctly recording sickness absences as an ongoing health issue. Critically, it defines menopause as a normal event for women and recommends that adjustments and additional support are made available when possible. You can also check out the menopause support resource for the legal profession, recently released by the Law Society of Scotland and Peppy.

Caring in later working life

Caring on an informal but regular basis for relatives, partners or friends is a reality for a large proportion of the working population. ONS data based on England and Wales highlights that informal caring responsibilities peak in the 50s and 60s age group, and that these responsibilities fall far more on women than men. In a study of 52–69-year-olds, the data showed that almost one in four (24%) female workers care, compared with just over one in eight (13%) male workers.

In addition, another ONS report has found that, as our population ages, the need for informal care will only increase meaning more people, and particularly more women, having to balance work with informal caring duties. Informal care providers are hugely important to the economy and society. Yet, being a carer can come at great personal cost with carers often experiencing tiredness, no time for themselves and increased risk of ill-health.

Caring responsibilities shouldn’t be invisible, yet childcare can often be far more acknowledged than other caring roles. An open dialogue between employers and staff will open the door for support like flexible and part-time options to be explored. It’s imperative that employers think proactively, as financial pressures will require older people to stay in the workplace longer in future, according to this ONS report. Without action and more support available, this will only grow as a pressure point for women trying to juggle their careers and external responsibilities, at double the rate of men, if current statistics on caring remain consistent in future.

The upshot?

Flexibility seems to be the watchword, as well as creating an environment where everyone can be open about what they need. My questions for employers would be: do you have policies and procedures that are embedded and consistently implemented? In my experience, wellbeing-related support is too often patchy and driven by progressive individuals rather than being implemented across businesses.

These discussions are all part of the wider conversation about being able to bring our whole selves to work, which is critical to protecting long-term careers in the law, as well as assuring it remains sustainable for our wellbeing. After all, we aren’t in the 1960s anymore. ■

Olivia Moore

Olivia Moore

Careers & Wellbeing Manager Law Society of Scotland