There are still more men than women in NZ’s legal profession

Expect a change in the coming months, the Law Society says

There are still more men than women in NZ’s legal profession
There are still more men lawyers than women lawyers in New Zealand, data from the New Zealand Law Society show.

There were 12,822 practicing lawyers who work in the country in October 10. The Law Society said that 50.4%, or 6,456, were men, while 49.6%, or 6,366, were women.

However, don’t expect the status quo to last, the organisation said. In a few months, there will likely be more women in the legal profession, with more than 60% entering the profession being women and more than 91% of practicing lawyers aged 70 or more being men.

For barristers, the men-to-women split is 61.2% to 38.8%. Women outnumber men in in-house roles 61.1% to 38.9%. Women also outstrip men in terms law firm employees who are not directors or partners, with 61.3% being women and 38.7% being men.

At the higher ranks, men outnumber women. Of directors, 62.7% are men and 37.3% are women. Of law firm partners, 73.1% are men while 26.9% are women. There are also more men than women sole practitioners, with a 68.5%-to-31.5% split.


Related stories:
Law Society calls for feedback on gender diversity and inclusion charter
Supreme Court reaches milestone with majority of women on full bench

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