A recent report demonstrates that almost half of the lawyers at top US Companies today are women. New data released by executive search and leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates shows that nearly half of the top lawyers appointed at the 500 biggest companies in the U.S. in 2021 were female, a sign of some diversity progress across large corporate legal departments.
These figures for corporate diversity outperform those for most law firms, which have historically fallen short in terms of promoting and retaining women and minorities. There is still a lot of work to be done in the private sector to arrive at gender equity.
Although the advances for women lawyers in the corporate world are encouraging, women lawyers should not have to leave private practice to experience equity for retention and advancement. Diversity, equity and inclusion needs to be at the top of “to do” lists at law firms as well. It will take commitment, creativity and flexibility to bridge the gap. And it needs to come sooner rather than later.
For more on the advances for women lawyers in the corporate world, see this article.
