Sexual harassment: Fear of complaining
Most women in law (88%) believe sex discrimination is still prevalent in the profession, with 63% saying they had personally experienced it in the last five years, new research has shown.
The vast majority (84%) also said they knew of colleagues who had experienced discriminatory behaviour during that time, according to the Next 100 Years project.
US President Donald Trump’s backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives was a cause for concern amongst respondents, with 64% fearing law firms would deprioritise DEI initiatives as a result – this already seems to be happening.
While just over half (51%) of the 148 solicitors, barristers, chartered legal executives and others who responded said their organisation took alleged incidents of sex discrimination seriously, one in five said they did not, and 70% said that they or one of their colleagues had not complained about discrimination for fear it would impact on their careers.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the UK’s Sex Discrimination Act 1975 – superseded in 2010 by the Equality Act – and 65% of those questioned thought legislation on discrimination had proved an effective catalyst for change when it comes to equality.
But only 2% considered sex discrimination in the legal profession to be a thing of the past.
The research suggested too that the nature of discrimination has changed – 70% of those questioned said the sex discrimination they witnessed was not as overt as in the past.
When asked where sex discrimination came from within the workplace, 47% said it was across the board, with only a third believing it was limited to a few ‘outlier’ individuals and a similar figure identifying their organisation’s leadership.
Only 14% thought this behaviour was prevalent in younger male colleagues.
Looking at the future of the profession, only 16% expected women in law to get true equality during their careers, with 47% saying it would take another 50 years.
Dana Denis-Smith, founder of the Next 100 Years and chief executive of Obelisk Support, said: “It is alarming to see so many women working in the legal profession are still exposed to discriminatory behaviour and that in many cases it appears to come from across the organisation, not just a few rogue individuals.
“Whilst it is good to see a majority of organisations taking this issue seriously, if women still feel speaking up could impact their career prospects, or suspect their organisation’s leadership to be complicit, we are a long way from seeing the change we need to help women thrive.
“There is clearly more to be done and I hope that initiatives such as the Harman review [an independent review of bullying and harassment at the Bar] will go some way to addressing the issues women in law contend with.”
Ms Denis-Smith acknowledged that DEI advocates faced “difficult headwinds” given the approach of the Trump administration and the knock-on effect in the UK.
“The gains of recent decades have been hard won and the legal profession must redouble its commitment to equality in the workplace and foster a culture where sex discrimination is not tolerated and those who experience it are empowered to speak out.”
Separately, Ms Denis-Smith has been elected as the next deputy vice-president of the Law Society. She will take office in October, becoming president in October 2027. She represents women solicitors on the society’s council.
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