Executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii About the authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Chapter 1: Authenticity and identity in law: building inclusive legal workplaces through intersectionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 By Brie Stevens-Hoare KC, barrister, Gatehouse Chambers Intersectionality: shared struggles or diverse realities? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Understanding inclusion and intersectionality through diverse lived experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Understanding barriers for women in law: an intersectional perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The risks of intersectionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Applying intersectionality: tools and requirements for inclusive practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Chapter 2: Who made the rules? Dismantling gendered leadership in law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 By Rachel Spink, founder, Female Lawyers’ Club Where are the women? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 The gendered lens of leadership: what the research shows . . . . . . . . . . 17 The consequences: how gendered leadership norms play out in law firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 The shift: a new model of leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Redefining leadership on our own terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 What needs to change: shifting cultures, systems, and self-perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Discovering your unique leadership strengths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 The opportunity: redefining leadership; reclaiming ourselves . . . . . . 36 Chapter 3: Technology, gender, and justice: AI’s role in women’s advancement in the legal profession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 By Priya Lele, chair and cofounder of She Breaks the Law, and Shilpa Bhandarkar, legal innovation and artificial intelligence consultant The significance of the AI gender gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Explaining the gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 The path forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Chapter 4: Beyond work–life balance: structural constraints and women lawyers’ progression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 By Claire Rason, executive director, Client Talk What is stalling women’s success? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Corporate practice: a case study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Unconscious bias at play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Changing workplace culture: a new approach to achieve gender equality in leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Looking to the future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Chapter 5: Rethinking pathways to partnership: advancing equity in a changing profession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 By Rachel Khiara, partner, HCR Law The traditional partner track: a system in need of overhaul . . . . . . . . . 70 Respectability politics: the invisible barriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Post-pandemic working practices and gender equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 The role of clients and firm size: harnessing external and internal pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Making value visible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Lessons learned and the call to action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Conclusions: building the new partnership model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Chapter 6: Beyond the buzzwords: practical pathways to racial equity and representation in the legal profession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 By Hilda Kwoffie, founder and mentor, The BAME Woman in Law Mentorship and sponsorship: a crucial distinction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Networking and representation: the gatekeepers of opportunity . . . . 82 Tokenism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Deconstructing structural barriers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Intersectionality: when identities intersect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 The power of collective voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Looking ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Chapter 7: Beyond barriers: promoting gender and class inclusion in legal education and practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 By Yanthé Richardson, president (2024–2025) and non-executive director, Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, and partner at Foot Anstey LLP The current state of socioeconomic diversity in law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Understanding intersectionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Systemic barriers to inclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 What the system can (and must) do: actionable solutions . . . . . . . . . . . 96 What success looks like . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Chapter 8: Breaking the mold: how neurodiverse women redefine legal excellence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 By Pam Loch, chief executive officer and founder, Loch Associates Group An overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Conceptualizing neurodiversity: clinical and policy frameworks . . . . 105 The prevalence of neurodivergent conditions among women in the UK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 The legal framework: employer duties and carers’rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Intersectionality: neurodiversity, gender, and legal culture . . . . . . . . . . 109 Fostering neuroinclusivity throughout the employment lifecycle . . 109 Empowering neurodivergent employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Coping strategies for core legal work contexts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Chapter 9: The leap to law: embracing experience and non-linear careers in the legal profession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 By Melanie Arens, founder, Later on Lawyers Stage 1: The academic qualification process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Stage 2: The elusive breakthrough role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Summary and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 Chapter 10: Structuring inclusion: how women general counsel are shaping DEI through governance and procurement . . . . . 135 By Sarah Clark, chief revenue officer, The Legal Director From performance to practice: why DEI must shape how power works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Designing for dissent: how governance enables DEI under stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 General counsel as strategic buyers: shaping the legal supply chain . . 141 Box 1: Internal behaviors to operationalize DEI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Box 2: External behaviors to operationalize DEI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Chapter 11: Your own potential, your own terms: crafting your career through consultancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 By Rachel Brushfield, founder, EnergiseLegal The consultant lawyer market: market size and trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Private practice, women, and seniority: the data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Consultancy: the way forward for women lawyers? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Insights from women consultant lawyers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 The drawbacks of being a consultant lawyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 The importance of building your career capital, personal branding, and client following . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Building a portfolio career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Chapter 12: Your voice, your power: strategic amplification for women in law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 By Joanne Brook, consultant lawyer, and Belinda Lester, managing director at Lionshead Law All about you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Practice (verb): To carry out or perform a particular activity, method, or custom habitually or regularly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Amplify (noun): To increase size or effect of something or add detail or information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 What do we mean by AMPing up? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 AI and you: artificial intelligence’s role in amplification . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Amp (verb): To increase the level or amount of (something) sharply; to make (someone) feel excited and full of energy . . . . . . . . 175 Final words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 About Globe Law and Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179