Pay gap widest among top earners as lawyers call for greater focus on supporting female career progression

Male lawyers are earning roughly a third more than their female counterparts despite a growing focus by law firms on gender diversity, according to a new Law Society study of 2012 pay levels. 

The research, which analysed pay data from 633 individuals working full-time in private practice, found the average salary for a qualified male lawyer of any level stood at £60,000 compared with £44,000 for women. 

The disparity increased with pay grade, with the top-earning quartile of all male lawyers surveyed paid at least £95,000 – 46% more than their female counterparts, who took home a minimum of £65,000.

Similarly, the gap widens further up the career level, with top-earning male equity partners (those in the top quartile) earning as much as 50% more than their female peers, taking home at least £150,000, compared with £100,000 for women. 

The median earnings for male equity partners stood at £70,000 – 8% higher than the figure of £65,000 for women.

Ashurst finance partner Helen Burton (pictured, right) said: "It's a disparity that shows the lack of progression in the profession, and follows the fact there aren't enough senior female equity partners. 

"While it's a depressing statistic, it's another reminder of the importance of pushing the progression of a female lawyer's career all the way up the ladder. 

"It's not just about focusing on the percentage of women who enter partnership, as a lot of people do – we need to carry on supporting women as they advance through their career and ensure that our focus doesn't fall away."

In contrast, the gender gap is far smaller looking at the top ranks of salaried partners, with the upper percentiles of male and female salaried partners both bringing in around £100,000, although the median pay for male salaried partners of £70,000 is 40% higher than the corresponding female figure of £50,000.

Hogan Lovells disputes partner Ruth Grant (pictured, left) said: "These statistics raise the question of whether and, if so, why more women are staying in salaried roles instead of reaching the equity. This is something I know is regarded as a very live issue in the US and which is beginning to be explored more in the UK.

"There are various factors that may be relevant to why these differentials have emerged, such as different salary levels offered for different types of work and different levels of earnings at different firms, which, if more women are at firms that pay less or work in less well-paid areas of the law, may go against the notion that the figures reflect some form of direct discrimination.

"If this is the case, it raises interesting questions about the types of work the women questioned were doing, and where, and how that differed from their male peers."

The report also found average median earnings across all private practice grades have fallen by 3.6% on 2008 levels, down from £55,000 to £53,000. Equity partners have seen the sharpest decrease since the credit crunch, with median drawings down 18% from £85,185 in 2008 to £70,000 in 2012.

The Law Society's 2008 study, which found that male solicitors at the time earned on average £19,000 more than their female colleagues, prompted the society to launch a two-year equal pay campaign in collaboration with the Association of Women Solicitors.

In 2011, Eversheds became the first law firm to sign up to a gender reporting initiative launched by the Government, which sees businesses encouraged to report on issues including variances between male and female pay. 

A number of other major firms including Allen & Overy, Linklaters and Hogan Lovells have since joined the initiative.