One third of partners at law firms in England and Wales are female, while more than half of all partners attended a state school, according to diversity data published today by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The regulator's survey, based on responses from 180,000 solicitors across 9,000 law firms, was conducted in August 2017 and shows a slight increase in some diversity metrics.

Larger firms lag behind the national figure when it comes to female representation within the partnership, with women making up just under a third (29%) of the partnership in firms with 50 or more partners. This represents a slight increase on the last time the survey was carried out in 2015, when the equivalent figure stood at 27%. In 2015, the proportion of female partners nationally was also a third (33%). Overall, women made up 48% of all solicitors last year.

Larger firms also have a lower proportion of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) partners  than smaller firms, standing at 8% BAME compared with more than a third (34%) of partners in sole practice coming from a BAME background.

Overall, the total number of BAME lawyers has increased in the past few years, climbing from 18% in 2015 to 21% in 2017.

The number of partners educated at state schools stood at 57%, up from 52% in 2015, with nearly 60% of partners being the first generation of their family to attend university.

Just 3% of solicitors described themselves as disabled, which is significantly below the government's 10% estimate for the wider UK workforce. The same percentage identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual, with 2% of all respondents saying that their gender identity was different to that assigned at birth – the first time the SRA has gathered data on transgender individuals.

Paul Philip, the SRA's chief executive, said: "I know we will all welcome the progress that is clearly being made in many areas. But there is much more to do to achieve a truly diverse profession that reflects the community it serves, encourages people to access the legal services they need, and offers opportunities for the brightest and best from every background."

Philip added that the latest report would "help law firms to consider what more they can do to realise those business benefits, as well as doing the right thing".