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T Inns of Court Alliance for Women

THE INNS OF COURT ALLIANCE FOR WOMEN:

“AN ALLIANCE OF PURPOSE”

By Master Leigh-Ann Mulcahy

The Inns of Court Alliance for Women (ICAW) is the new incarnation of the Temple Women’s Forum (TWF) which started in 2011 as a collaboration between Inner and Middle Temple to encourage and support women throughout their careers and to increase retention and diversity within the profession. This year, it has become an all-Inns collaboration led by me for The Inner Temple and fellow co-convenors; Her Honour Judge Khatun Sapnara representing Middle Temple; Lady Justice Nicola Davies representing Gray’s Inn; and Chief Chancery Master Karen Schuman representing Lincoln’s Inn. The Alliance was launched at Gray’s Inn in February 2022.

The Inns of Court Alliance for Women has committed to continuing this work, recognising the challenges and barriers to career progression and wellbeing faced by women in the law, and the intersectional disadvantage faced by women from non-white ethnic backgrounds and by women with disabilities. Working together as an entity of the Four Inns will increase its reach and influence.

The Alliance commits to:

i. provide a safe forum where issues facing women in the profession can be discussed; ii. support the Inns’ commitment to equality, diversity, inclusion and social mobility; iii. take an intersectional approach to talks and events to ensure the voices of women facing inequality are heard; and iv. promote initiatives across the four Inns to support access, retention, and progression of women in the profession. The launch of the Alliance on 9 February coincided with a dispiriting report by the Bar Standards Board publishing quantitative evidence that women barristers are likely to earn less than male barristers and those from minority ethnic backgrounds are likely to earn less than white barristers. The starkest finding is that female barristers from minority ethnic backgrounds represent the lowest earning group, with average income of 41% of that of white male barristers. White male barristers comprise the highest earning group. Evidence of gender disparities has not been limited to publicly-funded work. Further, the income gap is evident from the outset of barristers’ careers indicating that this is not an issue attributable solely or predominantly to childcare commitments. Analysis by The Lawyer concluded that the Employment Appeals Tribunal was male-dominated; claimant firms tended to opt for male silks, City employment practices largely used male counsel, and men dominated instructions in the Court of Appeal.

Even when comparing barristers in the same main practice area and seniority, by year of Call, female barristers and barristers from minority ethnic backgrounds still earn less on average than their equivalent male and white barristers. In her speech at the Alliance launch, Lady Nicola Davies said “the findings highlighted the relevance of an intersectional approach, considering gender and ethnicity together, when evaluating the issue of gender income disparity amongst barristers. The differences in income can be significant, for example women over 15 years call working in financial and commercial law on average earn less than half of their male equivalent’s earnings”. The most concerning aspect of research in this area is that the gender income gap has consistently widened over the last 20 years despite an increase in the number of women barristers working at the Bar.

Baroness Helena Kennedy addressing the Alliance Garden Party Co-convenors Leigh-Anne Mulcahy KC and Lady Justice Nicola Davies

Alongside this research, qualitative research into the experiences of women barristers has shown that many women barristers have serious concerns about fair access to work. In 2016, the Bar Standards Board surveyed women barristers about work allocation. While many respondents considered that monitoring worked well, others expressed concerns about a lack of transparency.

To support Heads of Chambers and Senior Clerks in their development of practical solutions to ensure a fairer allocation of work, the Inns of Court Alliance arranged a hybrid panel discussion held at Middle Temple Hall on 9 March, Foundations for a Fairer Future to which Heads of Chambers and Senior Clerks were invited by the Treasurers of all four Inns. Chaired by Maggie Semple OBE of the QC Appointments Panel, panellists included Rachel Krys, E&D Consultant in charge of the Bar Council Accelerator Programme; David Stone of Allen & Overy; Nkumbe Ekaney QC, joint Head of Chambers at 1GC Family Law; Susanna McGibbon, Treasury Solicitor; Joanne Kane, former Chair of the Young Barristers Committee of the Bar Council; and Rachel Holmes, Chief Executive of Matrix Chambers. The Alliance received positive feedback overall about the importance of this conversation in taking practical steps to improve equality in the profession.

Though met by resistance from some, overall, the Alliance received positive feedback about the importance of this conversation in taking practical steps to improve equality in the profession.

On 23 June, the Alliance held a cross-profession networking garden party event, the eighth of its kind since the inception of the Temple Women’s Forum and now firmly established as one of the main diversity events of the Inns’ calendar. Attended by over 600 female practitioners, male allies, solicitors, and judges, we were honoured to have leading human rights, civil liberties and constitutional law silk Baroness Helena Kennedy as speaker at the event. After 50 years’ Call to the Bar and a fearless track record of campaigning for social justice and gender equality, Baroness Kennedy spoke of the ever greater importance of upholding the rule of law in a time of growing populist politics. After 50 years’ Call to the Bar and a fearless track record of campaigning for social justice and gender equality, Baroness Kennedy spoke of the ever greater importance of upholding the rule of law in a time of growing populist politics.

Guests at the event had the great privilege of meeting some of the Afghan judges who had been helped by many lawyers in this country, prominent among them Baroness Kennedy and Mrs Justice Maura McGowan, Treasurer of Middle Temple, as well as the Inns of Court.

Though there is still much to be done to improve equality, this year, we celebrate three significant milestones:

First, three years on from the centenary of the first woman to be admitted as a solicitor, Carrie Morrison, this year is the centenary of the first woman to be called to the Bar, Dr Ivy Williams. Secondly, this is only the second time we have had two female Treasurers of the Inns of Court at the same time – Her Honour Judge Deborah Taylor at The Inner Temple and Mrs Justice Maura McGowan at Middle Temple (and Lady Justice Nicola Davies will be Treasurer of Gray’s next year). Thirdly, we now have the first Lady Chief Justice in the United Kingdom; The Rt Honourable Dame Siobhan Keegan, Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland. Dame Siobhan has tasked Adele O’Grady QC, Suzanne Simpson SC and Anna Rowan to take forward a gender initiative in Northern Ireland, with a launch event planned for October 2022.

The Alliance is grateful to Andrea Dallling for compiling a summary of research relating to gender equality and the experiences of women at the Bar of England and Wales, and to Dominique Smith for creating a guide signposting female barristers to resources which can be found on the Alliance pages of the Inn’s website innertemple.org.uk/researchsummary

Leigh-Ann Mulcahy KC Fountain Court Chambers

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