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There were more female than male students at Lancaster Gate in 1980. The preponderance of women at the junior end is not new. Having been training principal in two firms from 1999 to 2014, it was my experience that (i) there were more women applying than men; and (ii) women were often the better candidates. Nonetheless, I did notice a clear bias in some colleagues about candidates, based on gender. From women colleagues it was in favour of more men, to balance; from male colleagues it was for the women because they were better. Many colleages of both genders had reservations about longer term commitment, given that law firms tend to operate on hourly rates, and women tend to take on most of the burden of child rearing.

While some of the comments above are over-richly phrased, there is something in the line that women do not (as a cohort, not individually: I know some veritable Stakhanovites) work as many chargeable hours as men (as a cohort). The billable hour is in my view the real culprit. Ideally, 'new structures' will allow a more holistic approach to billing, but it should be remembered that the billable hour arose because clients wanted an accounting.