Birmingham Law Society Retention of Women in Law

The event was hosted at No5 Barristers by Chief Executive, and President of Birmingham Law Society, Tony McDaid and Leadership Coach Rebecca Mander. 

 

Tony has made it his mission in both his roles to improve the retention of women in law. While more women are entering the profession, they aren't making it to senior roles. Women make up 60% of entrants into the profession but only 31% of partners. This means that men in the profession receive twice as much in bonuses (£4k compared to £2k on average), and leave the legal profession with one of the largest gender pay gaps of any industry (25.4% compared to a national average of 14.9%).  

 

Ian joined an impressive panel to share best practices, learn from each other, and discuss solutions. Also speaking were: 

 

 

Ian was asked to join the panel due to his approach when building Spencer Shaw. When founding the firm, he was determined to offer a different way of working, swapping long hours and high targets for a supportive environment and better work/life balance. This approach has attracted a mostly female team, working a mix of part time, full time and condensed hours, and working on remote, hybrid and office-based arrangements.  

 

Spencer Shaw has shown that flexible work can be practical for law firms and that retaining and developing talented solicitors is good business sense. The firm has grown rapidly in size, is highly-rated by clients, and has been shortlisted for some very prestigious awards. The approach also saw Ian shortlisted for Partner of the Year at the Birmingham Law Society Awards 2023. 

 

We were happy to represent smaller firms, and share our experience of building a happy, successful team. We're proud that Ian is leading by example and, as the sole man on the panel, leading by example to encourage men to join in working towards equality.