In India Inc too, women lawyers setting new bar _ The Financial Express
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In India Inc too, women lawyers setting new bar
By: Kunal Doley | March 6, 2016 12:22 AM
If recent hiring activity data are anything to go by, this could be the best of times
for women lawyers to make a mark in corporate India, as companies have been
aggressively pushing to close the gender gap and improve diversity in the past few
years.
As per Vahura, a recruitment firm that specialises in legal talent, up to 60% of
lawyers hired in the financial services industry last year were women. Besides
financial services, IT (40%) and energy (35%) have been found to be the other two
sectors that are hiring more women in their legal teams. In general, there has been
a steady rise in women lawyers’ listing in India—from 12.5% in 2010 to 17.34% in
2015, as per UK-based Chambers & Partners, which ranks lawyers and law firms.
“Companies, as a whole, are aggressively pushing to close the gender gap and
improve diversity. This change in hiring strategy can be seen in recruitment for
legal experts as well,” says Trupti Kulkarni, head of internal systems, Vahura.
Women lawyers adapt better and faster in the corporate world, explains Kulkarni.
“They have a natural temperament and disposition to adjust to the corporate
culture and have a detail-oriented approach. This is helpful when assessing legal
issues/risks. Their intuitive approach is particularly helpful when it comes to
dealing with contractual and employee-related issues,” she adds.
Besides corporate India’s focus on improving the diversity ratio, disparity in pay—
or rather the absence of it—seems to be another prime reason driving women
lawyers to join companies. As per Vahura, which regularly tracks the average pay
rises when professionals shift jobs, women lawyers on an average received a
29.80% hike as compared to male lawyers, who received an average hike of 35.31%
last year.
Women lawyers with 11-15 years’ work experience got hikes similar to their male
counterparts. “In every other experience bracket, women got only a marginally
lower percentage hike as compared to their male counterparts,” adds Balanand
Menon, head of consulting, Vahura.
Dee Sekar, a UK-qualified solicitor, corporate counsel and global diversity editor at
Chambers & Partners, too, sees less of a pay gap in corporate firms compared to law
firms, “where there is much more of a male-centric atmosphere and pay inequality
between men and women”, she says, adding, “The traditional law firm structure is
60 1 0G+
2. 07/03/2016 In India Inc too, women lawyers setting new bar | The Financial Express
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not conducive to those who require flexible working arrangements.
Women struggle to advance in their careers when they return to work after
maternity leave. It is for this reason that moving into an inhouse role might seem
like an attractive option for women, as corporations tend to offer more flexible
work options and support,” she adds.
Sekar, who is of Indian origin, feels the demand for Indian women lawyers is on a
rise globally as well.
“Most law firms have international clients and I have seen a huge demand for
(Indian) women lawyers from US and Latin-American clients. The growing
presence of international firms in India will also help in increasing this demand,”
she says. Realising their importance, Indian law firms are also taking steps to retain
female lawyers. For instance, the erstwhile Amarchand Mangaldas—the largest law
firm in India before it split into two different law firms in May last year—had a
45:55 gender ratio across the board. It also has a crèche since December 2009. “The
centre had the capacity to look after 15 children aged between the ages of six
months and eight years. Along with two teachers to keep the children engaged
throughout the day, they also had a nurse for medical assistance. This definitely
sets a very high standard and positive example for the rest of the profession,” says
Sekar.
In recent years, demand has grown for women lawyers in the technology space in
India. “However, they are mostly in the mid-manager-level roles and not many
make it to the general counsel and senior vice-president levels,” laments Sekar.
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