Earlier this month, Legal Week surveyed over 200 senior City partners on their perception of firms' approach to women in the profession as part of its regular Big Question survey. Following an unprecedented level of response, here are some of the best comments

Firms are doing their best

"It is tough to combine a family with life in a top firm, but that is a function of client needs, not client demands. At senior level, it is easier since the money helps to buy in additional help; at a junior level it is very difficult. Firms are not generally discriminatory. Lawyers are, I believe, pretty meritocratic by nature. The challenge is getting big, complex, cutting-edge jobs done when you have to be home to read the bedtime story." Anonymous

"I don't think it is truly possible for anyone male or female to have everything. Life is a compromise. You need to decide what your priorities are and concentrate on them without thinking that anyone owes you a living." Anonymous

Men lose out

"This ignores the growing interest by men in ensuring that they are able to participate properly in bringing up their children. Men are more likely to be more assertive than women in ensuring that their requirements are met in this regard." Anonymous

"In my experience, women (especially those with children) do get treated perfectly fairly and, in many cases, a good deal more leniently than men in law firms. They are, for the most part, less able to deal with stressful situations and pressure than men. They also tend to take more sick days. And statistically, how many men work part time? A lot less than women. If they want the rewards of a career in a commercial law firm, women have to make sacrifices and not expect men – and in particular men that don't have children – to cover for them but then complain when the latter are the ones who get to climb the ladder faster and reap more rewards. Apparent talent is not enough in a law firm business, it's also about hard graft. It's a choice – women are not obliged to work in a commercial law firm and have children – they can choose to work in a less pressured environment. That is the compromise they must make at their own cost, and is not for their colleagues to subsidise." Anonymous

"These questions are deeply sexist. I am a father, and the demands of work are difficult to reconcile with my wish to spend as much time as possible with my family. Why should it be any different for a woman? Why even assume that a woman has 'family aspirations' any more than a man, or that women should be treated any differently?" Anonymous

"This is positive discrimination. Why should firms tolerate this and why should firms positively look to recruit women over men? Perhaps firms should have flexible working hours for childless couples/homosexual couples to engage in recreational activities outside the office, or a support group for guys who want to follow their favourite football team around the country? Why should firms (and the associates within them) have to work to support the decisions of others? I don't see how it is fair to offer more favourable terms of employment to those who have children against individuals who choose not to or who are unable to have children." Anonymous

There is still a divide

"It is not just child rearing that is an issue. Women tend to carry the burden of family responsibilities in general, including the elderly and infirm." Anonymous

"The profession is still some way behind other industries in finding ways to retain female talent at senior levels in law firms. Attracting female entrants to the profession is not so much the issue anymore, which makes it all the more troubling that women are not seen in greater numbers at senior levels. While flexible working is important, for both men and women the power of role modelling and mentoring within law firms is often under estimated. Male lawyers don't have far to look to see others like them in positions of authority and seniority. Since women do not see the number or range of women lawyers in similar positions, it makes it that much harder to believe it is possible to achieve both a successful career as well as a healthy work/home balance. That's why proactive, conscious, formal and informal mentoring, coaching and engagement is so vital and can be so effective." Moni Mannings, Olswang, head of banking and chair of the diversity committee

"Even with a supportive firm it is very difficult to accommodate a family and a high-flying career (assuming that your children do not go to boarding school). This is more so if your husband also has a career. Flexible work practices help, but as there are only 24 hours in the day it is impossible not to be worn out. Some superwomen do seem to have it all – but I really wish that they had a lower profile and made life easier for the rest of us! A major issue for me is meetings outside core work hours, which is often when internal meetings/training sessions are scheduled. Also, with increased emphasis on business development, there are many evenings taken up with entertaining clients. It is not unknown for me to put my children to bed on Sunday evening and not to see the youngest (2-years-old) until Saturday morning, although I do try to avoid early starts coupled with late evenings." Anonymous

"If male lawyers took more of their own domestic responsibilities, female lawyers would look less unusual." Anonymous

"Law firms are greatly disadvantaged by the fact that they do not give women the credit they deserve and reasonably assist and support them to return to work or even undertake work during maternity leave. One of the main issues is that women have different working practises to men – they tend to spend more time in the office doing the job to the best of their ability, while men tend to take the 80:20 approach – 80% working and 20% socialising and spreading the word about their talents. Law firms need to recognise this – good clients do!" Anonymous

"Until the mediocre woman is regularly promoted, we will not have achieved equality." Anonymous

"As a claimant employment lawyer, I have lost count of the number of firms who openly tell aspiring female solicitors that they cannot be made up to partnership because they are part time, as if the response is totally justified. This attitude is totally outdated, obviously unlawful and needs to change if law firms want to adapt to the ways of the 21st century." Anonymous

Retention

"There is too much lip service being paid by commercial law firms to the issue of retaining talented female lawyers and promoting them. There is an enormous degree of sexism in the profession – and women still need to be substantially better than the next man to have a chance at a promotion. The male partners tend to club together and senior women (of which there are very few in law firms) can often be isolated and lack mentors." Senior corporate partner in a major regional firm

"Given women make up 50% of graduate intake, improving retention is of fundamental concern." Charlie Geffen, senior partner at Ashurst

Flexible working

"Some firms seem to manage to do a lot more than others for flexible working schemes, and it will be interesting to see if the unpaid leave proposals many firms are implementing over the summer shift mindsets in the long term. Equally, I think employers are only half the picture – if children are seen as mainly the mother's responsibility by their parents, then women who have children will find it very hard to work successfully. Fathers' approaches to work needs to change too! As a working mother, I find that some of the most supportive colleagues I have are those whose wives also have demanding careers." Suzanne Gill, partner at McGrigors

"Women need to be less apologetic, and firms less blinkered, in their approach to flexible working. It is not necessary to be at one's desk 24/7, even as a transactional lawyer. One is often unobtainable because they're in a meeting, anyway. Moreover, a lot of men 'disappear' out of the office for hours (or even days) on 'marketing'. In my experience, formal part-time work can be a curse – five days' work for four days' pay, no lack of interruptions on the 'day off' and an unjustified black mark for 'lacking commitment'. Perhaps the trend away from billable hours to value billing will help – the growing emphasis, which I have witnessed over the last 25 years, towards longer and longer recorded hours has hampered women's career progression." Anonymous

"Targets for billable hours become ever more stretching. This is the reality of working in a top-flight law firm, so it is probably harder to combine a successful career with a young family than it was when my own children were born. I would like to see more opportunities for flexible working so that singletons and parents can all find effective ways of managing their working lives." Jane Samsworth, partner at Lovells

"Rapid developments in technology (the blackberry and remote access to work IT networks, for example) mean it is now far easier to combine work and parenting, yet firms seem reluctant to adopt more flexible working practices." Anonymous