19% earnings difference within two years
The gender pay gap between male and female barristers begins immediately after qualification, new research has shown.
The new analysis by the Bar Council suggests that the gap in earnings starts in the first year of practice, and cannot be explained by caring responsibilities, choice of practice area, or amount of legal aid funded work undertaken.
The New practitioner earnings differentials at the self-employed Bar report looks specifically at at barristers with zero to three years experience.
The data shows that women’s median earnings are 13% lower than men’s across the 0-3 PQE range. Those with less than one year PQE have a 5% difference, while those with two years PQE face a 19% gap.
The gap is, however, affected by practice area, with the smallest gap coming in family law (4%) and the largest in crime and personal injury/professional negligence (17%).
The report makes a number of recommendations around how to monitor the gap, suggesting that sets actively manage practice and career development through analysing earning data, have policies in place to monitor led work, and undertake regular practice reviews.
Commenting on the findings, Sam Townend KC, chair of the Bar Council, said: “The earnings gap between men and women at the self-employed Bar is a structural problem that presents a collective challenge for the Bar. We need to reconsider the ways in which we speak about and address money, billing, work opportunities, work and personal choices.”
“The recommendations presented in the report are a starting point for discussion about how to consider redressing the balance, not so that everyone earns the same — which is neither possible nor desirable ––but so that everyone is supported in developing the practice they want,” Townend KC said.
He added: “The real solutions will need to come at a local level where barristers and chambers professionals meet to talk about the ways they wish to work. All the evidence we found suggests that positive practical and evidence-based conversations need to happen right from the start of a barrister’s career to support the development of a thriving practice.”