The International Bar Association (IBA) yesterday encouraged women across Africa to add their voices to a global discussion by anonymously participating in an online survey, the primary component of Phase 2 of its ambitious 50:50 by 2030 project.
Gender equality in senior positions within the legal sector was identified as one of several key strategic priorities for the IBA by immediate past President Almudena Arpón de Mendívil Aldama, a Spanish corporate and TMT lawyer who was the first female IBA President in two decades, and only the second in the IBA’s history.
“When I assumed this position, I also committed to making gender equality key to the identity of the legal profession globally,” wrote de Mendívil in December in the introduction to 50:50 by 2030: A longitudinal study into gender disparity in law. “Equality is a matter of law. If we aim, as legal professionals, to advocate effectively for equality and inclusion, we must lead by example to be credible role models.”
Last month, the IBA marked International Women’s Day by officially launching Phase 2 of 50:50 by 2030 (a first-of-its-kind, nine-year study).
Unlike Phase 1, which took a country-by-country view across 12 jurisdictions on five continents (including Nigeria and Uganda) to better understand the position of law firms, companies, and institutions, the new survey focuses on the experiences of individual women in the legal profession, including:
obstacles to practice;
reasons for thinking about leaving or having left the field;
opinions on diversity initiatives and their efficacy;
the effects of menopause; and
the impact of caring responsibilities on women’s careers.
“One of my presidential priorities is to build on the work of my immediate predecessor regarding the lack of gender parity in the legal profession,” says IBA President Jaime Carey. “By gathering data from individual women on the various aspects that impact their careers in the legal profession, we can better understand the results of Phase 1 that demonstrated that the glass ceiling preventing women's advancement to senior roles is very powerful. Our ultimate goal is to enhance and broaden strategies that will accelerate the advancement of gender equality.”
The IBA is very keen to hear from women in the African legal profession. The online global survey is available in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.