Legal Jobs – 100 Years Of Uk Women In Law
The role women play in many legal jobs across the globe has change significantly over the years. Considering the long history which is associated with law practitioners, it may come as a shock to others that women have only been practicing law successfully over the past 100 years. Quite the modern movement.
One of the very first great milestones for women in British law was the accomplishments belonged to two Glaswegian women Eveline MacLaren and Josephine Gordon. Both MacLaren and Gordon were the first Scottish women to become law graduates 100 years ago.
However, being able to study law and being able to practice law were two separate yet equally difficult things for women to do. It wasn’t until the mid 1919 when women were officially allowed to obtain lawyer jobs in the UK after the Sex Disqualification Act was passed. Among the first British women to be admitted to the Law Society were Carrie Morrison and Maud Crofts (who was herself a suffragette) who graduated with 1st Call Honours from Cambridge University in 1922.
Since the early 1920’s the rise of women taking up law jobs has seen small incremental growth. Comparing statistics on the number of women in legal jobs from the 1950’s to 2010 shows a 38% growth taking it from 1.98% to 40% respectively.
Most recent prolific moments in UK female legal history came in 2003 when Dame Brenda Hale became Senior Appeal Judge lady Justice Hale the very first female lords at the tender age of 58.
The history of women in law has been met with inequality and prejudice over the years, and for females to overcome high barriers to entry can be regarded as one of the most poignant moment in modern day history.
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