IBA Survey – Why do women leave the profession?

  • April 11, 2017

International Bar Association

Women graduate from law school and get jobs at the same rates as men, but 10 years later it’s a different story – they are not equally represented at the higher levels of firms and many have left the profession altogether.

And it’s not just Canada where this is the trend, it’s a global issue.

The International Bar Association Legal Policy and Research Unit marked International Woman’s Day on March 8 by launching a survey to find out why so many women around the world are leaving the law. And it doesn’t just ask women – it wants men to weigh in on the issue as well.

Responses will be anonymized. The IBA will collect and analyze the information, then publish it in a report to be presented at the IBA Annual Conference later this year in Sydney, Australia. The report, aimed at law firms and legal associations, will offer “practical measures for stemming the attrition, as well as strategies for developing retention and re-engagement.”

“This specific issue lies within the broader serious problem of a major lack of diversity in the legal profession, particularly within senior roles,” says Isabel Bueno, chair of the IBA Women Lawyers’ Interest Group. “Urgent resolution is required, and I wholeheartedly support the IBR PLRU initiative to firstly understand the root causes behind the departure statistics and then to develop guidelines to halt them for the good of the legal profession and society in general.”

Take the survey 

Deadline for participating is April 30.