A little over 100 years ago, working in law was not an option for women, who did not even qualify as ‘people’.
Fast forward to now and it seems that while women account for more than 60% of the legal workforce, and are welcomed as pupils and trainees, they can only progress so far. Less than one-fifth of partners in the top 10 UK law firms are female, and at barrister and judge level the stats show an even more favourable position for men.
Before my son was born, my own experience of working in the legal sector was of a heavily male-led environment.
Whilst I always met my targets, it was not a career path that I found particularly rewarding: the hours were long, the work required ever-increasing levels of repetitive drudgery, and the pay was terrible! To add further insult, my earned commission was once given to a male colleague.
I never felt I was given the opportunity to thrive. I have lost count of the amount of times that my ability was questioned, or I felt overlooked because I am a woman.
The work life balance was also poor. I felt a pressure to arrive early and stay late for no extra benefit. And don’t even think about calling in sick.
So, when my son arrived, I decided to leave my job and take the opportunity to focus solely on being a stay-at-home mum. I read recently that women are most likely to leave the labour force after their first child. Like many other mothers before me, I couldn’t see how my working environment would allow me to do either role really well.
After two and a half years of being just “Mummy”, I felt the urge to get back out into the world of work again. I wanted to do something for myself, find a new career, but I didn’t want to feel like I was sacrificing my family life either. Especially not for a company where I would feel under-appreciated and given no room to grow. But what could I do?
Then along came Gingerhead.
I was offered the incredible opportunity to work for a company that was built with families in mind with flexible hours and working from home. Not only that, but a female-led business too!
In the short time I have been here, I have already been given numerous opportunities to expand my skill set and my ability has never been questioned. I feel like my input is truly valued and that I have joined a team of incredibly talented women who work together better than any other environment I have ever worked in before.
But the icing on the cake has to be our lovely clients. It is such a pleasure working alongside them to bring ideas to life. We have been so lucky to have been a part of some wonderful projects and I cannot wait to see what lies ahead.