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Women accounted for the majority of senior promotions in Lawyers Weekly’s exclusive analysis of more than 1,000 promotions, but that milestone does not mean the profession’s work is done.
Women emerged as the clear winners in Lawyers Weekly’s analysis of more than 1,000 promotions across 42 medium and large law firms, dominating appointments to partner and recording strong representation among new special counsel and senior associates.
For example, of the 42 lawyers promoted at Slater and Gordon, 60 per cent were women, which chief executive Dina Tutungi said reflects a long-term investment in women advocates and leaders.
“Slater and Gordon was one of the first law firms to have a female partner. Women have long been deeply embedded in our complex and demanding practice areas, from class actions and abuse law to personal injury and public liability,” Tutungi told Lawyers Weekly.
Renée Bianchi, president of the Australian Women Lawyers, chair of the B Miles Women’s Foundation and co-chair of the Women Barristers Forum, said the current state of women’s representation across the Australian legal profession is “better than it used to be”.
“Progress is being made, and it is now not a rare sight to see women throughout the ranks of the legal profession, from juniors to those women in senior leadership positions, whether solicitors, bench or bar,” Bianchi told Lawyers Weekly on reflection of its data.
Bianchi noted there has been progress in women being promoted to partner, “which seems to have finally come about after some decades of more women than men graduating from law school, and those numbers rising up from junior levels”. Out of the 95 lawyers promoted to partner in the 2026 rounds, almost 60 were women.
There has also been the introduction of parental leave policies across the profession to encourage new parents to take leave and support their return to work, Bianchi said. These policies “are becoming more generous and in line with good work practice”.
According to the 2026 Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) data, all law practices with 100 or more employees have employer-funded paid parental leave available for primary carers, and 93 per cent for secondary carers. Most cover adoption, stillbirth and surrogacy, and approximately 44 per cent cover fostering.
“I think there seems to have been a realisation (finally) that if you want the best talent, then a firm needs to do more than just ‘talk the talk’ and be heard to be supportive of women. They really need to demonstrate that they are,” Bianchi said.
While these milestones are to be celebrated, Bianchi said there was still work to do, “particularly in relation to those women with equity partnerships and those women leading (the larger) law firms”.
Of the 42 firms – including the Australian offices for international practices – analysed in Lawyers Weekly’s data research, just 30 per cent had a woman at the top. These firms included BigLaw practices Clayton Utz, Gilchrist Connell, and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.
According to Bianchi, there is also still work to be done around harassment and discrimination, equitable briefing policy, and the billable work model. There is also a lack of gender pay equity, which will never be achieved “if things keep moving at such a glacial pace”.
In March, Lawyers Weekly reported on the total remuneration gender pay gap at all firms with over 100 employees, revealing that just under three-quarters had a gap higher than the national average of 11.2 per cent. Compared to 2023–24 data, 39 per cent had a worse gap, with some increasing between 5.2 and 12.3 percentage points.
Women appear to be leaving around five to 10 years post-qualified experience, and likely more between five and seven years, as women start to have families and consider whether the profession is the right fit.
“From what has been told to me, women appear to plateau in the years when they have young children at home, may also have elderly parents or other responsibilities, and may be working part-time. They are often overlooked or not considered as serious or as dedicated to their career,” Bianchi told Lawyers Weekly.
On what it takes for firms to demonstrate meaningful gender diversity beyond the data, Bianchi said that it must be about more than “just ticking a box to say you have women”.
Bianchi posed a series of questions firms must ask of themselves: Are the voices of women leaders listened to? Are they given an opportunity to truly lead, “and not just when something has gone wrong, and a woman is appointed to step in and fix everything”? Are they supported to take on such roles, and can those roles be adapted?
“Meaningful gender diversity is not just looking at leadership level, but looking at those moving up. Are they being mentored and supported? Do they have a champion or sponsor to help guide them?” she said.
