Progress towards closing the gender pay gap in law firms could be yet another unforeseen casualty of the global coronavirus pandemic. With the suspension of gender pay gap reporting in 2020, the equal pay claim brought against Asda in the Supreme Court this month – the largest ever in the private sector – has shone a welcome spotlight back onto the issue of pay disparity.

It is already clear that across all sectors women are losing out as families try to juggle childcare and work. In the legal sector the consequences of that struggle on gender pay gaps may only be felt next year, as firms assess the performance and contribution of lawyers in determining promotions, pay and bonuses.

The UK government suspended gender pay gap reporting legislation this year, just a week before the reporting deadline. While many businesses, including law firms, will have welcomed this move given the myriad of matters they were dealing with in April, this brings with it the danger that law firms will let their efforts towards gender parity slide just as they need to reinforce them.