8 minute read
International Women’s Day 2024
This year we marked the date with a series of events in Belfast, London and Edinburgh and include here photos with summaries of the discussions. The Cardiff event is still in process so keep an eye on our social media.
One theme from all the events was imposter syndrome. Even women we perceive as successful talked about this anxiety and we discussed some of the tips to address it, given in an article by Eileen Donaghey. A key strategy was keeping a folder of positive feedback – why not read it through before a job interview or an intimidating meeting to remind yourself that you do have what it takes! You can find the original article here https://issuu.com/ benham/docs/1940_legal_women_may_2023/21
London
Ever the down-to-earth politician Emily Thornberry arrived by bicycle, slightly wet but completely composed and ready to talk. She reflected on her own career as a barrister and that she was fortunate to have female role models in her chambers, including, Dame Helena Kennedy. She was frank about the difficulties of developing your career alongside a family and how she and her husband had arranged things. She wasn’t sure if her career as a politician would have been possible if her constituency had been outside London.
The big take away was ask women to apply roles as often it hasn’t occurred to them to do so. For Emily herself, it was Harriet Harman who suggested she apply for certain roles. This was a theme heard in Belfast and Edinburgh, where women leaders said they were surprised to be invited to become a partner and assumed it wasn’t compatible with their family commitments, in one case a KC, being surprised that Lady Dorrian suggested she consider a judicial role and so on.
The discussion also covered the initiatives by The Fawcett Society on salary secrecy; participating employers do not ask about past salary as often this ensures that a lower salary is carried around with the individual. There’s no need to know what their current salary is but rather concentrate on what salary is appropriate for the role being offered.
One key feature of the plans of the Labour Party concerns action to counter the issues over funding being less frequently available for women and in smaller sums. The shadow City minister Tulip Siddiq, plans to use a state bank to fund female-led businesses and this will form part of the party’s financial inclusion agenda. Labour says it will use state bank to fund female-led businesses | Women in the boardroom | The Guardian
London Photos from Norton Rose Fulbright Credit photographer - Benoît Grogan-Avignon.
Edinburgh
The Right Honourable Lady Dorrian
Lady Dorrian spoke in Edinburgh and has kindly made her speech available. You can find it on our website on the events page.
Belfast
Photos from PressEye and used with permission of The Law Society of Northern Ireland
The Right Honourable Dame Siobhan Keegan, Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland was the guest at the Legal Women evening at The Law Society of Northern Ireland in Belfast. Tamara Duncan, trainee solicitor at TLT, reflects on the evening.
The 2024 theme is ‘Inspire Inclusion,’ and as such, the event was a testament to the power of solidarity and collaboration in fostering an inclusive legal profession, with attendees, both male and female, sharing experiences, exchanging insights, and inspiring inclusion for a diversity of backgrounds and circumstances.
A poignant keynote address from the Lady Chief Justice set the tone for the evening as she emphasised the importance of inclusivity in driving progress within the legal profession. Sharing both personal anecdotes and professional insights, Lady Chief Justice highlighted that her achievements to date are due to encouragement from a number of areas: family, both mother and father; peer support from mostly females; and professional support from males. She stated that we should recognise the ways in which men support inclusion, without fearing it will necessarily detract from celebrating women in the legal profession.
Much of the dialogue centred around allies in the workplace and how psychological support can make a difference to women in the legal profession. Lady Chief Justice discussed recent surveys carried out by the Law Society Northern Ireland and the Bar of Northern Ireland, which emphasise a ‘mid-career migration of women’, generally related to caring obligations and the lack of financial and professional support in the profession when returning to work after having a family. On a positive note, in February, twelve females were among 34 members of the Bar of Northern Ireland appointed as King’s Counsel in the first call since the Covid-19 pandemic. This marks a three-fold increase in the number of women represented during the last set of appointments in February 2020, highlighting the increase in women in senior positions, who may be able to offer guidance and support to those at the beginning of their law career or individuals trying to juggle work responsibilities with caring obligations. Practical support, such as flexible working and an understanding of working hours and arrangements, was further emphasised, as many caring responsibilities tend to fall on women.
The ‘burnout barrier’ was also considered, with attendees agreeing when Lady Chief Justice indicated that legal professions have inevitably become more complicated and stressful due to increased demands in meeting deadlines, constantly being ‘on call’ and easily accessible, as well pressures legal professionals put on themselves. The statistics indicate that many females in private practice tend to move to the public sector due to the prospect of flexible working and increased work/life balance, which leads to questions about
what the private sector is doing to support young professionals. Lady Chief Justice has put in place an annual health check for the judiciary to encourage mindfulness in this area and believes that there should be a Code of Conduct established in the profession for times in which emails should be replied to or the maximum number of hours one should work.
Lady Chief Justice continued by saying that, as we all understand the need for diversity within the profession, the debate now needs to focus on the fundamental principle of actively including people, highlighting the importance of this year’s theme, Inspire Inclusion. She spoke of her delight that socio-economic inclusion is now being discussed as she feels this, along with ethnicity and disabilities, in particular hidden disabilities, need to be supported more. Mentoring and reverse mentoring is one way in which Lady Chief Justice believes people can begin to feel included no matter their background and that it’s important for those established in law to let everybody shine for different reasons.
Parting words from Lady Chief Justice centred around ‘being yourself’ in the profession. That the stereotyping of females and the pejorative terms often applied to ambitious women, such as being pushy or overconfident, wouldn’t necessarily apply to men. The lesson is to stay true to yourself and have your voice heard. An ability she has noticed over the last number of years in young people who are increasingly speaking up about issues and getting involved in groups such as the Young Solicitors Association or Young Bar Association, which allows them to be further represented.
In the closing the event, Coral Hill, Editor in Chief of Legal Women Magazine, expressed gratitude for attendees’ support and participation and enquired into the impact events like these have. Positive responses followed, with Aileen Donnelly, Interim Head of Equality & Human Rights at Education Authority, stating that there is an element of peer and aspirational mentoring within the events, where all attendees share common issues that are important to discuss so everyone can learn from each other. Mary Kitson, Senior Legal Officer in the Equality Commission Northern Ireland, also shared the same viewpoint, affirming that it is helpful to talk about experiences, hear from others and share ideas.
Shauna McStravick, Director at Cavanagh Kelly, works in Insolvency, a male dominated industry. She expressed that many insolvency law events in Northern Ireland feature all male panels and the event attendees are predominately male. She believes events like Legal Women’s are important as they inspire inclusion and focus on females building each other up.
Another attendee highlighted a term that has great importance to her – ‘Can’t see, can’t be’. Being surrounded by strong females growing up, she was able to take inspiration and support to forge ahead in her chosen path. This point was solidified by Lady Chief Justice who believes that the visibility of women in senior positions should never be underestimated.
As attendees departed, energised and inspired, it felt like a renewed sense of purpose was present - a commitment to continue the work of building a legal profession where all individuals, regardless of gender, race, or background, are welcomed, valued, and empowered to thrive.■
