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Female solicitors 'get paid less'
News Article Published:
Friday, 23 May 2008 Category:
Law
The Association of Women Solicitors (AWS) yesterday launched an equal pay campaign after a Law Society study revealed male solicitors earn on average £19,000 more than females.
Published this week, the survey indicated male solicitors earn an average of £60,000 per year compared to £41,000 for females – showing a median gender pay gap of 32 per cent.
After various factors, including hours worked and the areas of law most practiced were considered, it was discovered female solicitors earn on average 7.6 per cent less than their male counterparts.
Fiona Fitzgerald, chair of the AWS, said the legal profession was becoming more and more female, with 60 per cent of last year's intake of solicitors being women.
"The pay gap demonstrates not only that many women are not equally rewarded for equal work, but most significantly, that women are not making the progress through the profession that they should," she added.
Former president of the Law Society and past chair of the AWS Fiona Woolf had challenged the association to find solutions to the pay gap issue.
The Law Society is the professional body representing solicitors in England and Wales
