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UK’s top firms fail to increase female equity partner figures

This topic always raises the issue of the difficulties female lawyers have juggling work and childcare. Why is childcare still viewed by so many as a female issue? How often are men asked (by colleagues, friends or family) whether they'll return to work after becoming a father and, if so, whether they will want to work part-time? There is so often an assumption that if one parent is not going to return to work, or is going to work part-time, it will be the mother. Why should this be the case? If more men did the same amount of childcare as their wives/partners then perhaps juggling childcare would be less of a "female lawyers' issue", less of a taboo and more just a fact of life - like in Scandinavian countries. Perhaps the starting point is for the female lawyers to demand that their husbands/partners do this - and for more male lawyers to be seen taking on the same amount of childcare responsiblity as their wives/partners?

12-Sep-2011

5:05 pm