A survey of in-house counsel finds the most popular reason for lawyers to move away from private practice is work/life balance.

A full 45% of females and 50% of males cite this as the main reason in this year’s Mason Hayes & Curran LLP third annual general counsel survey.

However, work/life balance has become more important as a reason for male respondents in 2020, and slightly less important for female respondents this year.

Equal split

Of those surveyed, 49% reported that the workforce in their organisation was approximately equally split between men and women.

In 2018, 19% reported that the percentage of females at senior levels was between 30% and 50%. This rose to 32% in 2019, and this year stands at 42%, showing positive developments in female representation.

Just 5% stated that there were no female members in the c-suite in their organisation.

The number of women citing pay gaps as an issue dropped from 69% last year to 58% in 2020.

‘Motherhood penalty’

 The ‘motherhood penalty’, or the fact that women are the main carers for children, is one of the main reasons for the gender pay-gap, the survey shows.

“42% of women and 44% of men cite women being the main carers for children, and other family members, as the main reason for the gender pay-gap,” said Vanessa Byrne of MH&C LLP.

Both male and female respondents see the solution as being less in Government-led intervention, and more in internal organisational initiatives.

The majority of men and women cite greater internal transparency, and clearer policies around pay and compensation, as the most effective measures.

On positive discrimination or gender quotas, one respondent said: “I would hate to think I got a role just because I am female,” but 61% favoured the measure as a short-term fix.

Working from home

A full 80% of in-house lawyers are still working from home, with the majority of men (50%) and women (55%) stating that the main benefit is better work/life balance.

The majority of men (96%) and women (88%) believe that employers will be more open to working from home in the future, and a slightly smaller majority (80% of women and 75% of men) would prefer a hybrid model of working part-time from home and part-time from the office.

Impact on careers

However, women seem to be more concerned about the effect the pandemic and remote working will have on their careers, with 41% worried about future salary-increase prospects compared with 33% of men. 

“It is heartening to see improvements from year to year in terms of female representation at senior levels, but the challenge now for organisations is to not allow remote working to hamper these advancements,” said Vanessa Byrne.

“Research has shown that better female participation in leadership teams can lead to better financial performance, which will be key as organisations rebuild in the aftermath of the pandemic,” she said.