Editorial
“
Law firms are falling
short when it comes to
promoting women
”
The need to ensure the advancement of women in
the legal profession is now of critical importance. As
highlighted in our employment special report in this
issue, it’s becoming increasingly common for clients to
demand that, in order to receive an instruction, legal
advisers have to demonstrate they have policies that seek
to promote women in the workplace. In simple terms,
if law firms don’t nurture their female lawyers, clients
won’t be giving them their business.
Iberian law firms, like many firms around the world,
are falling short when it comes to promoting women.
Iberian Lawyer research earlier this year showed that
only 16 per cent of partners at Spain’s leading firms are
women, while 26 per cent of partners at Portugal’s major
firms are female.
It’s not good enough. More needs to be done with
regard to this issue, and this is the reason why we are
proud to announce the launch of the Iberian Lawyer
InspiraLAw Top 50 Women List (on page 16). This
initiative aims to recognise women working in the
Spanish and Portuguese legal sectors who have been
identified by their peers as excelling in their careers
and therefore serving as an inspiration to the younger
generation of female lawyers. This is only the start of the
journey, but we hope InspiraLAw will help the Iberian
legal profession to reach the destination at a faster pace.
Ben Cook
Editor
Iberian Lawyer
[email protected]
Twitter: @BenCook_Iberian
www.iberianlawyer.com
November / December 2017 • IBERIAN LAWYER •
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