Lack of women in the legal profession is 'harming itself'
12/06/2008(16:50)
The legal profession is harming itself if it chooses not to include women who want to work outside of the traditional working practices.
According to the Trades Union Congress (TUC) the industry needs to enable women to better juggle home and work responsibilities and allow them time off to have children, without returning at a reduced salary.
Sarah Veal, head of equality and employment rights at the TUC, said: "What's happening is in a profession that's still regarded as predominantly male, there is a kind of culture that doesn't take into account all the contributory factors to women working."
Ms Veal added that women who leave to have children "slip very rapidly behind male counterparts" because they miss out on training opportunities and experience.
She states the legal industry will "rob itself of a lot of talent" if it does not choose to accommodate people who work outside the nine to five day.
The Law Society recently reports the average male solicitor earns 32 per cent more than his female counterpart.
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