Female partner numbers need boost

The founder of The First 100 Years project has called for quotas in law firms to guarantee more women at equity partner level and in senior management.

Dana Denis-Smith, the entrepreneur and lawyer who set up the project nearly five years ago, has warned that the profession is dragging its heels on equality, with ‘rigid and inflexible structures’ in many law firms preventing women from progressing to senior positions. 

‘Women are still not sufficiently represented at equity level, amongst QCs or in the judiciary and when they are, they are not paid as much as their male counterparts. We should be demanding equal representation and pay,’ Denis-Smith said.

‘Much of the problem is structural. I would like to see an end to the “salaried partner” position that is so often where senior women find themselves—promoted to partner but without the voting power conferred by being in the equity, giving firms the cover of higher female partner numbers. When women are not adequately represented at the top things do not change.’

She argues that, though controversial, quotas are necessary because years of talking about diversity have failed to deliver sufficient change. She calls for more creativity and flexibility to accommodate both women and men with caring responsibilities.

Denis-Smith is also the founder of Obelisk Support, a multimillion-pound company that provides ex-City lawyers on a flexible basis to FTSE100 companies and big law firms.

‘What we have learnt from history is that change sometimes needs to be forced,’ she said. 

‘There are many firms and chambers out there who recognise the importance of diversity but are hampered by industrial levels of inflexibility. The reality is that our workplaces can be incredibly rigid, inflexible and artificial places that don’t reflect our real lives.’

The First 100 Years project celebrates the journey of women in the century since the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 allowed women to join the legal profession. Its exhibition is currently touring the country. This week, it launched the second of its ten-part podcast series charting the journey of women decade by decade.