Lost to Law: Why Women Leave the Legal Profession

Abstract

In spite of an increasing reliance on women entrants to the legal profession, women remain under-represented in the higher levels of that profession, not least because many women leave legal practice notwithstanding the strenuous route to qualification. This empirical survey gathered qualitative data on the reasons why women chose to abandon their career in law. The factors behind such a significant decision included: personal reasons based on health, stress; dissatisfaction with the work or the workplace; and the pressures of family life and caring obligations. These factors intersect and overlap and are reflective of wider societal and cultural pressures on women. They provide a basis to question whether, as the proportion of qualified women entrants to the profession continues to rise, failure to better accommodate the needs and aspirations of women lawyers might present a systemic threat to the legal profession.