Legal regulator concerned over number of women barristers

Updated

Disproportionate numbers of women barristers are giving up the profession, according to a legal regulator.

The Bar Standards Board also says the percentage of women practising as barristers - 35% - has not changed for six years.

Board bosses, who regulate and monitor barristers' behaviour, have launched a survey of the experiences of women barristers in a bid to find out how well equality rules are working.

"Currently almost 50% of people called to the Bar are women, but women are leaving the profession in disproportionate numbers," says a "professional update" published by the board in legal magazine Counsel.

"There is a slow rate of progression as woman make up 35% of the practising Bar, the same percentage as in 2010."

The notice added: "Women's representation at the Bar is a growing conversation in the profession and wider society. It's in the public interest that regulation encourages a diverse profession."

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