MACHO CULTURE: women 'penalised' for working part-time


The legal profession is the UK's least 'mum-friendly' sector, a survey by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) has suggested.



The profession came last in a survey of ten sectors, ranking behind industries such as construction, engineering and manufacturing.



Researchers found that only 11% of mothers working in the legal profession felt they had sufficient opportunities to develop their careers, and only 35% felt they were 'treated like an equal' on returning to work.



The vast majority, 89% of participants working in the legal sector, said they were looking for a more flexible approach to work.



The teaching profession topped the pole for most mum-friendly sector, closely followed by catering, retail and leisure. While 48% of teachers quizzed said they returned to work for 'the love of the job', only 26% of employees in the legal profession said the same.



Solicitor Anna Kavanagh, founder of consultancy Time4Balance, said she was not surprised by the survey results, given the 'pervasive macho culture of presenteeism in the top firms' which penalises women working part-time, rather than measuring their actual output.



Association of Women Solicitors chairwoman Fiona Fitzgerald said there were still issues around flexible working in law firms that could be 'judged by the poor ratio of female partners to male partners in firms'.



Law Society President Andrew Holroyd said that, while the Society is helping firms to be more friendly to women with children, this was a complex problem and client expectation was a clear factor.



The TDA surveyed 2,538 mothers with children working across a range of sectors, including 55 in the legal sector.



Anita Rice