New data collected by the Law Society and published this week shows that female solicitors earn around 29% less than male solicitors on average*.  A large part of the difference is the result of factors such as the type of work undertaken. However, after taking these into account, the Law Society puts 8% of the difference down to direct discrimination by employers. 

The survey also showed considerable variation according to experience and location. The survey found that the pay gap was 10% between male and female assistant solicitors, rising to 24% between salaried partners. Women in the North earned just 7% less than men, compared to 26% in the South.

    She's just happy she's getting paid at all 

One signficant reason for the difference in the overall average is the smaller proportion of women who are partners (12% of female solicitors are equity partners or sole traders, compared to 36% of male solicitors). Part of the reason for that is historic, as men used to represent a significantly larger number of solicitors entering the profession. However, according to the Law Society, the biggest reason is that women are simply less interested in becoming a partner because of work/life balance issues and stress.

Interestingly the survey also showed that while women work, on average, shorter hours than men, they still manage to bill about the same amount of time. Suggesting that it's not the ladies who spend their time gossiping in the canteen.

*This is the median difference (ie the middle value) which is the preferred way of measuring this sort of thing. The mean difference is 37%.
Tip Off ROF