Many factors help explain why women leave law careers
More women join law firms at entry-level positions, but women outpace men in leaving Big Law jobs. Research shows that women leave law careers due to multiple factors.
According to a Leopard Solutions survey, as reported by JD Supra:
“The reasons cited in the survey by respondents on why they left their Big Law positions included what you would expect – gender biases, microaggressions, billable hour target pressure, preservation of mental health, lack of mentorship, unequal pay, as well as isolation, long hours and unpredictable schedules, lackluster career trajectory prospects and insufficient work-life balance, among others.”
That’s a long list, and the survey results reveal some unexpected and interesting insights. Some of those key factors include:
Work-life balance
When we talk about why women leave law, we often assume that parenting concerns top the list. However, the Leopard Solutions survey found otherwise:
“Perhaps the most eye-opening insight from the survey – while three-quarters of survey respondents said they are mothers, women lawyers are not leaving the legal field due to childcare barriers resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 70% of respondents reported that staying home with their children had little or nothing to do with their decision to leave their legal jobs.”
A separate survey that tracked stress and burnout among lawyers showed that family work-life balance concerns remain a significant factor for women:
“For women, work-family conflict had the highest odds ratio with regard to association with contemplating leaving the legal profession due to mental health, stress, or burnout. More specifically, compared to women with low work-family conflict, those with high work-family conflict were 4.60 times more likely to contemplate leaving.”
These findings suggest that workplace culture plays a strong role in women’s decisions to leave law firms.
Opportunity
The Leopard Solutions survey revealed that most women left Big Law jobs because of “lack of opportunity and support at their law firms.”
Even in Big Law firms touted for supporting the highest job satisfaction among their attorneys, looking at the data tells a different story for women. According to Above the Law:
“…women rated their job satisfaction as 13.5 percentage points lower than that of their male counterparts, and 62% of them saw their firms imparting ‘limited or no commitment to helping them in their careers’ (compared to 48% of men).”
And women of color feel this lack of opportunity even more profoundly. Impact Lawyers reported that:
“According to a report by the American Bar Association (ABA), 70% of women lawyers of color in the United States have either quit or are considering quitting the legal profession…”
Of note, the ABA survey cited included a caveat that the survey did not reach statistically significant numbers because the organization had trouble finding women of color who had stayed in the profession for longer than 15 or 20 years.
Purpose and Meaning
In our experience, the vast majority of lawyers who leave Big Law do so in search of a greater sense of meaning and purpose.
Regardless of gender, we have seen many talented lawyers launch their own firms in an effort to create a new model. These new, small law firms place a much greater emphasis on healthy culture and alignment with personal values. Lawyers who want to have an impact on their communities tend to have greater flexibility and autonomy in independent law.
However, independent practice can often lead to isolation, which can detract from an individual’s sense of impact and influence. The answer for our members has been to seek community and collaboration in a shared office setting. Working in an office alongside other entrepreneurial lawyers dedicated to mission-driven work can help lawyers reconnect with a sense of purpose.
Our lawyer-only office communities allow independent lawyers to create law firms that have a greater reach and impact. Learn more or schedule a tour today.
