- Femaile Barristers push for equal pay
- By Mark Russell
- The Age
- 22/03/2009 Make a Comment (2)
- Contributed by: The Rooster ( 258 articles in 2009 )
FEMALE barristers in Victoria have had enough of being the poor cousins of their male counterparts.
They are demanding Attorney-General Rob Hulls take action to boost their pay, which in some cases is just over a third of a male barrister's for the same work.
In a submission to the House of Representatives inquiry into pay equity for women in the workforce, the Victorian bar's equal opportunity committee said there was "a consistent and significant discrepancy between the average brief fee earned by male and female members of counsel".
A woman briefed by a government department would receive on average 44 per cent of the fee paid to a male barrister, while a woman briefed in a litigation matter by a government department was likely to receive only 38 per cent of the male barrister's fee.
The committee recommended that an investigation be launched into the causes of the pay inequity. Committee chairwoman Fiona McLeod, SC, said the core principle of the model briefing policy introduced in 2000 was the right of women barristers to equal treatment as legal practitioners, and the recognition that gender inequality diminishes the standing of the legal profession and the community as a whole.
But Ms McLeod said there had been no improvement in the pay equity situation for female barristers since the policy was adopted.
She said the Government and panel law firms (the firms that apply by tender to do government work) had only been "paying lip service" to the policy.
"The figures are disappointing," Ms McLeod said.
"It's not just an issue about women, it's an issue about equality of opportunity and having the bar as strong as it can be.
"If women are being paid significantly less by government, it means they won't have the wherewithal to flourish at the bar and then the whole bar suffers.
"These firms are meant to report on their own compliance with the policy, and they do things like invite women for lunches, but it doesn't result in women being briefed. And if they are being briefed, they are not being given a reasonable share of the fees. They are being briefed in small matters, the interlocutory stuff rather than trials and appeals."
Victorian Bar Council chairman John Digby, QC, said the bar recognised the apparent pay inequity and was committed to doing what it could to improve the situation and reduce the rate of attrition of women practising as barristers.
He said the bar had recommended steps including "in-depth investigation of the root causes of apparent pay inequality, better collection of data, the introduction of clear briefing targets and improved education on this issue".
Mr Hulls said Victoria was leading the country in equitable briefing practices for government work. "The most recent Legal Services annual report shows that while women make up 20 per cent of the bar, they received 28 per cent of the fees invoiced to government and 52 per cent of government briefs. These figures show that the Government's innovative policy is working."
Ms McLeod, however, said pay inequity had resulted in a significant drop in the number of senior women counsel in Victoria: 18 women are silks, compared with 211 men. "People keep saying … women go off and have families and don't come back, but if they were financially secure here, they would come back and they would have choices."
Many female barristers were stunned no senior women counsel were appointed to the Black Saturday bushfires royal commission. The Sunday Age has been told that Mr Hulls was given an early draft of the pay equity submission but decided no senior women counsel were needed at the commission, meaning they would miss out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees.
They are demanding Attorney-General Rob Hulls take action to boost their pay, which in some cases is just over a third of a male barrister's for the same work.
In a submission to the House of Representatives inquiry into pay equity for women in the workforce, the Victorian bar's equal opportunity committee said there was "a consistent and significant discrepancy between the average brief fee earned by male and female members of counsel".
A woman briefed by a government department would receive on average 44 per cent of the fee paid to a male barrister, while a woman briefed in a litigation matter by a government department was likely to receive only 38 per cent of the male barrister's fee.
The committee recommended that an investigation be launched into the causes of the pay inequity. Committee chairwoman Fiona McLeod, SC, said the core principle of the model briefing policy introduced in 2000 was the right of women barristers to equal treatment as legal practitioners, and the recognition that gender inequality diminishes the standing of the legal profession and the community as a whole.
But Ms McLeod said there had been no improvement in the pay equity situation for female barristers since the policy was adopted.
She said the Government and panel law firms (the firms that apply by tender to do government work) had only been "paying lip service" to the policy.
"The figures are disappointing," Ms McLeod said.
"It's not just an issue about women, it's an issue about equality of opportunity and having the bar as strong as it can be.
"If women are being paid significantly less by government, it means they won't have the wherewithal to flourish at the bar and then the whole bar suffers.
"These firms are meant to report on their own compliance with the policy, and they do things like invite women for lunches, but it doesn't result in women being briefed. And if they are being briefed, they are not being given a reasonable share of the fees. They are being briefed in small matters, the interlocutory stuff rather than trials and appeals."
Victorian Bar Council chairman John Digby, QC, said the bar recognised the apparent pay inequity and was committed to doing what it could to improve the situation and reduce the rate of attrition of women practising as barristers.
He said the bar had recommended steps including "in-depth investigation of the root causes of apparent pay inequality, better collection of data, the introduction of clear briefing targets and improved education on this issue".
Mr Hulls said Victoria was leading the country in equitable briefing practices for government work. "The most recent Legal Services annual report shows that while women make up 20 per cent of the bar, they received 28 per cent of the fees invoiced to government and 52 per cent of government briefs. These figures show that the Government's innovative policy is working."
Ms McLeod, however, said pay inequity had resulted in a significant drop in the number of senior women counsel in Victoria: 18 women are silks, compared with 211 men. "People keep saying … women go off and have families and don't come back, but if they were financially secure here, they would come back and they would have choices."
Many female barristers were stunned no senior women counsel were appointed to the Black Saturday bushfires royal commission. The Sunday Age has been told that Mr Hulls was given an early draft of the pay equity submission but decided no senior women counsel were needed at the commission, meaning they would miss out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees.
Source: https://www.theage.com.au/national/female-barristers-push-for-equal-pay-20090321-951j.html?page=-1
its hard enough to look at dickhead males who play this stupid game.
if they were doing an exceptional job they could name their own pay rates.
as Bill from QLD says, its a matter of personal financial gain rather than quality service.
as a bloke i don't trust a woman to represent me in any of life's arenas.
not that i could bear to look at most of the uglies i have come across over the years (i guess beautiful women have better things to do with their lives).
i have spent my fair share of time in courts and don't believe that i have seen any female barrister perform anywhere near the middle of the road male barristers.
maybe if the girls got rid of the stupid black gowns and mop hats and took a little more time to provide genuine service to those who really needed it, they could displace the boys club?
as for coming back to work after having a child, i would personally jail any mother who deserted a child after giving birth.
i don't believe in employers having to pay female employees to stay home and have a baby neither.
as mum would say, if you have a child, raise it. don't farm it out to a strangers so you can follow your professional dreams.
good luck to all the hard working women who desire a future in the legal profession. but don,t look for sympathy if you cant provide the standard of service available from the boys club.
having said all that most of the barristers i have come in contact with have been total dickheads and i would not let them walk my dog.
so you don't have too high of a standard to surpass girls.
as for Hulls, his opinion of women is already well documented, despite his ongoing attempts to appear otherwise.
i believe Hulls to be an abusive and manipulative thug.
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