An Exploration of the Perceived Gendered Impact and Implications of Shared Parental Leave on the Career Progression of Solicitors in England and Wales

Abstract

Over 100 years since the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 lifted the prohibition of women practicing law in England and Wales the number of women practising as solicitors has overtaken men. However, women continue to be underrepresented in the senior positions in the solicitors’ profession. Existing literature has identified that the solicitors’ profession is underpinned by a masculine workplace culture, and that sex, motherhood, and childcare responsibilities present obstacles for women to progress to the senior positions in the solicitors’ profession. In 2015 the UK Government introduced shared parental leave (SPL), a modest reform of childcare leave, enabling working mothers to transfer maternity leave and pay to the father from as early as two weeks after the arrival of a child. SPL is intended to help women to retain and improve their position in the UK labour market by encouraging fathers to share childcare more equally from birth. The object of this research is to examine whether SPL effectively addresses the gendered obstacles related to childcare responsibilities faced by women to career progression in the solicitors’ profession. To achieve this, the research employs a socio-legal methodology with a qualitative empirical approach using a student focus group, a qualitative questionnaire and 24 interviews with participants with experience working at solicitors’ firms based in England and Wales. This research finds that childcare and the perception that women will become mothers with childcare responsibilities is an underlying obstacle to career progression in the solicitors’ profession. This research also finds that shared parental leave is ineffective at challenging the obstacles to career progression because of barriers preventing parents from taking up SPL. Participants recommended changes to SPL and the introduction of additional mechanisms to encourage higher levels of take-up of SPL by parents working in the solicitors’ profession. This research proposes pointers for action by individual law firms, regulatory bodies, and the UK Government to increase the efficacy of SPL at addressing the gendered obstacles related to childcare responsibilities faced by women to career progression in the solicitors’ profession.