Women lawyers dissatisfied

Press, 6 October 1987, Page 4

Women lawyers dissatisfied

Many of New Zealand’s women lawyers are dissatisfied with the opportunities given them in the legal profession. Two-thirds of the women lawyers interviewed in the latest New Zealand Law Society survey on public and professional attitudes to the law have claimed that they are not given the same opportunities as male lawyers to work on “more challenging and prestigious work.” The survey has indicated that women were more likely to be working on domestic conveyanc-

ing, family law, District Court litigation and individual clients’ requirements. They were less likely to work in cases involving commercial law, estates, or tribunals. The Law Society and the United Building Society sent questionnaires to 470 members of the legal profession and conducted interviews with 510 members of the public. While 66 per cent of the women lawyers surveyed claimed that they were not given the same opportunity to expand their legal work, only 19 per

cent of male lawyers agreed. They also disagreed on whether women lawyers had difficulty in working with male colleagues — 46 per cent of the women lawyers said they encountered problems but only 13 per cent of the male lawyers agreed. While male practitioners rated the progress of women in the legal profession as an issue rather than a problem, 70 per cent of the women surveyed described it as a major or serious problem. While women make up 15 per cent of the legal

profession in New Zealand, only 8 per cent had management responsible ity. The survey also asked the public whether they would prefer to use a male or a female lawyer. According to the replies, 67 per cent said that they had no preference, 21 preferred a male lawyer, and 9 per cent a woman lawyer. The preference for woman lawyers increased for matrimonial and personal cases. It was lower than average for business, traffic, criminal and townplanning hearings.