International Women’s Day – your help is needed!

 

"International Women’s Day is marked on 8 March every year. In 2012 the Law Society will be hosting a summit to celebrate International Women’s Day. Whilst the number of women entering the legal profession has steadily increased, there is evidence that there are factors which negatively impact on their careers because of their gender. The top of the legal sector remains stubbornly male-dominated with the belief that high status roles can only be achieved at the sacrifice of personal values and family friendships. Women identify barriers which include issues of organizational culture, outdated perceptions of the roles that women fulfill, resistance to contemporary management practices and lack of female role models.

 

Over the past three decades much work has been done from both organizational and national perspectives to identify and address the barriers to women’s career progression. The aim of the summit is:

 

–           to identify and address the barriers to women’s career progression through the exchange of successful strategies for change; and

–           as a legacy,  to create a manifesto which will drive a more proactive agenda at both national and international levels.

 

The JLD will be submitting a paper to the Law Society and we want your views and experiences. In particular on:

 

–          Gender targets and the use of quotas

–          Workplace culture and the impact on women

–          Working practices in law firms

–          Supporting mechanisms for career development

–          Operating in global markets

 

We would like to know either about outstanding practices, innovation and ‘breakthroughs’ in terms of solutions and new ideas relating to the contemporary issues listed above and/or generally relating to the attraction, retention and professional development of women to the legal profession including work/life balance, gender policy, and education and management of cultural differences."