England: Chambers told to improve compliance with equality rules after 45 per cent of women report discrimination

Women at the bar have significantly better experiences where the regulator’s equality rules are firmly entrenched, according to a new report.

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) will be writing to every multi-tenant chambers across the country to seek their help in improving compliance with the Equality Rules, following the BSB’s survey of women at the bar published this week.

The Women at the Bar report, which is the result of research conducted earlier in the year with women at the practising bar about their experience of the BSB’s Equality Rules, found a number of examples of good practice and clear evidence of progress in some areas, though 45 per cent of respondents said they had experienced discrimination at the bar.

It also found that the experiences of women at the bar are significantly better in chambers where the policies which the Equality Rules require have been put in place following proper consultation and where everyone is aware of them.

BSB director general Dr Vanessa Davies said: “The Equality Rules were intended in part to improve the retention or women at the bar but, as we know, men outnumber women by two to one and this has not changed significantly over the last six years.

“There are some encouraging findings in this report but some are very disappointing, and we intend to address these issues as a matter of urgency. I will be writing personally to every multi-tenant chambers in England and Wales to ensure that equality policies are being properly implemented and that everyone is aware of them.

“We cannot tolerate a situation where women are treated unfairly in the workplace. Lack of diversity and discriminatory working culture and practices impair the bar’s ability to meet the needs of the public and could deter potentially great candidates from pursuing a career at the bar.”

BSB board member Justine Davidge said: “As a criminal practitioner, and one who has recently taken a step back from the self-employed bar after 12 years, I understand many of the challenges women face in their careers in this profession.

“We received more than 1,300 responses to our survey, which is about a quarter of the practising female bar. That makes this a very robust piece of research and we are committed to acting in response to what women have told us.”