Flexible working, leadership training and mentoring are among the most effective ways to improve gender quality in the legal progression, according to a progress report published this week by the International Bar Association (IBA) on its flagship 50:50 by 2030 project.

The key findings to date from the IBA’s longitudinal study into gender disparity in the law, which has so far carried out detailed research in 11 jurisdictions, were discussed at an event hosted by Travers Smith in London.

Outgoing IBA president Almudena Arpón de Mendívil Aldama spoke alongside the president of the Law Society, Richard Atkinson, who outlined the Society’s work in this field.

The report found that flexible working is “regarded as both the most popular and effective initiative overall in the jurisdictions surveyed to date” followed by leadership training for women. 

The need to provide women with mentoring and coaching was also highlighted, although this was deemed less effective than it was popular in many of the jurisdictions studied. 

The event on Tuesday (3 December) was attended by senior female IBA leadership and management board members and future female leaders of the profession. 

The IBA’s research, spanning 11 countries on five continents, found that overall, women comprised 47% of lawyers and 38% of senior lawyers. The representation of women at senior levels was significantly lower at senior levels across most sectors – private practice, in-house legal teams, public sector institutions and the judiciary. 

The report highlights economic and cultural barriers to societal equality while offering insights on effective workplace measures for achieving gender equality in senior positions.

Released by the IBA’s Legal Policy & Research Unit (LPRU) and the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation, the study is part of a nine-year global project to identify the causes of gender disparity in the legal profession and evaluate equality initiatives, aiming to create a blueprint for equality at all levels.

A flagship initiative of Arpón de Mendívil’s tenure, the 50:50 project is one of several strategic priorities for the IBA. Key messaging around gender equality has included the IBA’s celebration of International Women’s Day, which was accompanied by the launch of the initiative Ten Directives to Break the Glass Ceiling in law and a 2023 showcase on female leadership at the IBA annual conference, as covered by IBA Daily News, Global Legal Post’s sister title.  

Arpón de Mendívil said: “The report confirms what we sensed: the glass ceiling to reach senior positions in the legal profession is powerful. We must continue dedicating efforts to this crucial field, advocating for gender equality at all levels and becoming a credible example for other sectors.”

Noting the benefits of a diverse environment, measures to achieve them, and widespread awareness of the gender disparity, she said lawyers needed to “increase action and accelerate progress”, adding that the profession had the opportunity to achieve gender equality within the law this century. “We must not let it slip away,” she concluded. 

The IBA has published 11 jurisdiction specific reports spanning England and Wales, Uganda and Spain in 2022; Chile, the Netherlands and Nigeria in 2023; and Brazil, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Ukraine and, most recently, Turkey in 2024. Related studies include one on Nepal, written by New Perimeter, an affiliate of DLA Piper.  Further reports on Taiwan, Australia and South Korea will follow in 2025. 

The research has found that, among the countries studies, the highest percentages of women lawyers overall is in Chile, the Netherlands, and Ukraine. The countries with the most lawyers in senior positions, however, are in Ukraine, Turkey, Nigeria and the Netherlands. South Korea, Mexico and Nigeria had the lowest number of female lawyers overall, the lowest number of female lawyers in senior leadership positions, alongside Spain. 

The report highlighted the need for initiatives to be “appropriately targeted” to each jurisdiction and that while quotas were the least popular initiative to achieve gender equality they “should not be disregarded as a tool to accelerate achieving equality at the top and a method that is proven to produce results”.

Sara Carnegie, the IBA’s director of legal projects, commented: “Advancing gender parity at the highest levels of the legal profession is not just a matter of fairness; it is essential for building a more just, diverse, and effective legal system. Understanding the obstacles is the first step towards implementing the change required to establish equitable positioning.”

The IBA’s work was recognised by a Gender Equality Initiative Award at the Women and Diversity in Law Awards 2024 in March.