Female lawyers face challenging demands

"I think we are beyond the debate about whether men and women are equal in the professional services industry. However, while men and women have the same professional demands, we have different demands when it comes to home life and it is these differences that need to be recognised in a professional services context," says Claire Barclay, director in the P&I practice.

"It can be particularly tough of women in the professional services industry who are essentially in the business of selling time. Time is a finite commodity - there are only so many hours in day. On the one hand, we operate in a paradigm where career success and reward is linked directly to the time spent on the job. Attending to family takes away from this, so professional women inevitably need to make a value judgement on how to prioritise their time. I think my male colleagues face this too, but the social norm is that it is far more acceptable for a man to prioritise his work over family commitments than it is for a woman.

Good time managers

"In this quest for time, something has to give, either one has to work less or outsource home and family commitments. I think that women who are successful have become very resourceful time managers," says Barclay. "I do think women need to take ownership of the various caps they wear and to be more vocal about their private life responsibilities. If a scheduled meeting conflicts with an important family duty, a professional woman needs to be able to prioritise her family commitments without the fear of being judged as uncommitted or unprofessional."

Lyle Horsley, a senior associate in the P&I practice agrees that the dialogue with regards to women in law is no longer about issues of perceived competence. "P&I is largely a male-dominated sector but I have never had any issues with my competence being questioned as a woman in this sector. We are in a service industry and as such the priority is whether we can deliver the service or not and not what gender we are.

"However, as a young married professional intent on starting a family, there are challenges. For instance, how to manage the demands of a career and continue to fulfill my responsibilities at home. These are still discussions many more women have than men. Women also have a responsibility to support and mentor other women in the profession. And the more women share their stories and talk openly about home life responsibilities and the fact that we are juggling work and family life, the more we can learn from one another to try and overcome our respective challenges," she notes.

Gap has closed

Jay Govender, Director in the P&I practice feels that the gap between men and women in the workplace in South Africa is progressively becoming smaller. "Our practice area was in the past typically dominated by our male colleagues. Over time, and certainly in the energy space in which I practice, the number of women has grown. Granted there are times when I have had to assert myself to be taken seriously, but clients recognise ability and competence and after first impressions, gender does become superfluous." she says.

"I have seen women lawyers shine in our practice area - maybe because it is an area so analogous to the real life women lead at home on a daily basis, a life of management and multi-tasking, leading in an unassuming manner, having organisation skills without trying and taking a cue from the innate emotional intelligence most women possess. When coupled with technical ability, all these attributes provide the foundation for a successful P&I lawyer," she explains.