Feminism means progression, ideology, and doctrine centred around the legal, political, and social equality of women and men. It refers to equality that is protected, reinforced, and upheld by the law. In a legal context equality is viewed as the equal treatment of similarly situated individuals, but this definition can be seen as controversial. Within the European Union, Article 14 of the European Convention of Human Rights protects the equal rights in the member states by containing the following:
“The enjoyment of any right set forth by law shall be secured without any discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national, minority, property, birth or other status.” (Article 14 of the European Convention)
Figure 1: The symbol of justice
Despite this, a study by the United Nations revealed that “… women are the majority of the world’s poor and illiterate”[1] , continuing to stare that they “… tend to earn significantly less money than men and often work unpaid” [1], which reveals that despite seemingly equal in law, women are still unequal to men.
Long ago, women were discriminated against in almost all aspects of social life, from lower wages and no maternity pay to not having the right to vote and little legal recognition. Sadly, in many places, women are still discriminated against, women are routinely subjected to torture, mutilation, and mental abuse on account of their gender, along with facing slavery and dispossession. Sexism is a cause that feminists fight against, being prejudice based on gender stereotypes, usually revolving around women being less competent compared to men.
Women represent more than half of the population among countries in the European Union in 2016 [2] , and under the laws of the European Union, discrimination due to gender is forbidden. In the UK, the first appointed female judge in the UK was Elizabeth Lane in 1962[3]. Over the past few decades, the number of women graduating from law school and practicing law has grown, going from less than 5% in the 1960’s to 1/5 now. Despite this growth, women are more likely to miss promotions, more likely to earn less money, and tend to do less prestigious work.
A 2015 diversity report from the Law Society Organisation show that the total number of people attached to professional corporations (PC’s) was 121,563. Of these, 51.4% were men and 48.6% were women. In some areas of practice, such as central and local governments, women outnumber men, as women make up 65.6% and men make up 34.4%. A similar trend is observed for women serving In-House practices, where women have a majority at 54.1%. However, in private practices, men hold 53.8% of jobs, where women have only 46.2% of jobs [4].
Feminists and researchers have studied and theorised why women have less representation in the legal profession, and one of the most supported conclusions they have reached is that women are seen as being more empathetic and caring compared to men.
In previous generations, women were commonly the “home makers”, often staying in the home and raising children, compared to the male “bread winners”, who left the home to work and earn for the family. This gender norm can be traced back to early humans, where women protected the home, taking on a care-taking and foraging role, whereas the men went out to hunt and to fight.
Theorists contend that women are more likely to take care of substantive justice, rather than procedural fairness. Women would be more likely to take into consideration the contextual factors in understanding the clients, rather than focusing narrowly on the specific legal issue. As an article titled Feminist Lawyers: the fight for gender equality in the legal profession states:
“It is a fact that women and men, due to their biological and physiological dispositions, typically absorb and process information in different quantities and qualities.”
Throughout all of history, male dominance is probably one of the most persistent and tenacious systems of power. Women are generally concerned about the social commodity of the general public and tend to concentrate on negotiation and agreement. Whereas, men contrarily tend to act in an emergency which makes them act faster and more urgently. In the legal profession, it is crucially important to have a high level of communication skills, as well as soft skills such as emotional intelligence, intellectual flexibility, and cultural awareness.
Taking this information into consideration, it is clear to see that women in the legal system are clearly and blatantly discriminated against based on their gender, as they are still perceived as being weaker. Although it is an achievement to see the legal profession be more inclusive and more equal, women are still under-represented, mistreated, and unequal.
The objective of Feminism is not that women should have more rights or better treatment than men, it is the right for society to not be structured to be advantageous for men, or for women. Men tend to be in higher positions of power, and as such, women and women’s issues tend to be ignored or ill-supported.
Feminists would point out that in this case, all of society loses. Society is not benefitting from the contribution that everyone can make, and as such, our society needs to improve by treating women and men equally. One example of Feminist campaigning benefitting men is the advent of paid paternal leave in the 2002 Employment Bill [5]. Feminists are still campaigning for current women’s issues and social inequality, such as equal education, equal pay, and the struggle with domestic violence against women and girls. Charlotte Proudman, a human rights barrister which specialises in violence against women and girls, puts the goal of Feminist campaigning eloquently when she says:
“We want to work in an environment where sexism is not acceptable and where it doesn’t exist, and the only way that we are going to reach that goal is by challenging sexism directly,” (Charlotte Proudman)
[1]: (International Human Rights, Rhona K. M. Smith, 8th edition, page 197)
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