The lack of women at senior levels of the legal profession still causes grave concern, the new chairwoman of the Association of Women Solicitors said this week.


Susha Chandrasekhar said: 'Women's access to the profession is no longer an issue - it's the paucity of women at all levels of seniority that causes concern. The glass ceiling is very much a reality, as is the "glass cliff", where women are given roles with a built-in likelihood of failure or attracting criticism.'



Ms Chandrasekhar, who took over as head of the 11,000-member association from City solicitor Dawn Dixon, said that, during her 12 months in office, she intends to revise and update its mentoring scheme in an attempt to stem the exodus of women from the profession. She also plans to encourage and expand the AWS' regional network.



Jonathan Rayner